act
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: ăkt
ipa: /ækt/
ipa: [ækt]
ipa: [akt]
ipa: /æk/
rhymes: -ækt
Forms: form: acts
form: acting
form: acted
form: acted
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: act
form: act
form: acted
form: act
form: actest
form: acted
form: actedst
form: acts
form: acteth
form: acted
form: act
form: acted
form: act
form: acted
form: act
form: -
form: acting
form: acted
Etymology: From Middle English acte, from Old French acte, from Latin ācta (“register of events”), plural of āctum (“decree, law”), from agere (“to do, to act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti. Compare German Akte (“file”). Partially displaced deed, from Old English dǣd (“act, deed”).
Senses: examples: text: If you don’t act soon, you will be in trouble.
glosses: To do something.
examples: text: that we act our temporal affairs with a deſire no greater than our neceſſity
ref: 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “Signes of Purity of Intention”, in The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC, page 23:
text: Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do.
ref: a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number). Of Industry in General”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831, →OCLC:
text: Uplifted hands that at convenient times / Could act extortion and the worst of crimes.
ref: 1782, William Cowper, Expostulation:
glosses: To do (something); to perform.
examples: text: I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.
glosses: To perform a theatrical role.
examples: text: But whatever types he assumes, the need to have a good play which acts delightfully well before the audience, and to their delectation, is the dominant thrust. If the play acts well, the director gets the credits.
ref: 2011, Effiong Johnson, Play Production Processes, page 180:
glosses: Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).
examples: text: A dog which acts aggressively is likely to bite.
text: I believe that Bill’s stuck-up because of the way that he acts.
text: He’s acting strangely—I think there’s something wrong with him.
glosses: To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time.
examples: text: He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn’t worry.
glosses: To convey an appearance of being.
examples: text: act on behalf of John
glosses: To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.
examples: text: High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.
text: Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.
glosses: To have an effect (on).
raw_tags: construed with on or upon
examples: text: He’s been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.
glosses: To play (a role).
examples: text: He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.
text: With acted fear the villain thus pursued.
ref: 1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To feign.
examples: text: A lawyer cannot act until they have been formally instructed by their client.
topics: law
glosses: To carry out work as a legal representative in relation to a particular legal matter.
examples: text: This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: To possess an action onto (some other structure). Examples include the group action of a group on a set, the action of a ring on a module by scalar multiplication, and the action of a group or algebra on a vector space via a representation.
raw_tags: construed with on or upon
of an algebraic structure
examples: text: Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul.
ref: 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To move to action; to actuate; to animate.
glosses: To enact; to decree.
Derived terms: actability
actable
act a fool
act chicken
act like a bull in a china shop
act on
act one's age
actor
act out
act possum
actress
act smart
act the fool
act the giddy goat
act the goat
act the hypocrite
act the jennet
act the maggot
act up
act upon
autoreact
backreact
co-act
coact
counteract
crossreact
enact
interact
interreact
misact
outact
overact
overreact
play-act
preact
proact
react
retroact
underact
underreact
watch and act
Related terms: action
activate
active
deactivate