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act out

 
Idioms: act out


1.  Perform or portray something or someone, as in As she read to the class, the teacher had each child act out a different character in the story. [c. 1600]
2.  Express unconscious feelings or impulses through one's behavior, without being aware of it. For example, She acted out her anger at her father by screaming at her husband. This meaning comes from 20th-century psychological theory and usually (but not always) refers to negative or hostile impulses and emotions. The term is sometimes used without an object to mean "misbehave" or "behave disruptively," as in The child is acting out in class. [First half of 1900s] In both usages, out means "openly" or "publicly."


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WordNet: act out
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: represent an incident, state, or emotion by action, esp. on stage

Meaning #2: act out; represent or perform as if in a play
  Synonyms: enact, reenact


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more