Definitions for act out
act out

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. act outverb

   represent an incident, state, or emotion by action, especially on stage

   "She could act neurotic anxiety"

2. enact, reenact, act outverb

   act out; represent or perform as if in a play

   "She reenacted what had happened earlier that day"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. act outverb

   To go through the process of a scene from a play, a charade or a pointless exercise.

2. act outverb

   To express one's feelings through disruptive actions.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. act out

   In the psychology of defense mechanisms and self-control, acting out is the performance of an action considered bad or anti-social. In general usage, the action performed is destructive to self or to others. The term is used in this way in sexual addiction treatment, psychotherapy, criminology and parenting. In contrast, the opposite attitude or behaviour of bearing and managing the impulse to perform one's impulse is called acting in. The performed action may follow impulses of an addiction (e.g. drinking, drug taking or shoplifting). It may also be a means designed (often unconsciously or semi-consciously) to garner attention (e.g. throwing a tantrum or behaving promiscuously). Acting out may inhibit the development of more constructive responses to the feelings in question.

Matched Categories

1. • Act
   • Represent

How to pronounce act out?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say act out in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of act out in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of act out in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of act out in a Sentence

1. Roya Hegdahl:

   I have a lot of anxiety about how the world will react to the situation because in these moments it's easy to act out of fear and anger, which often doesn't lead to the best decision- and policy-making.

2. Jeffrey Swanson:

   If we were to cure mental illness, all of it, tomorrow, how much of our violence problem would go down ? It would go down about 4 percent, the mass shooters, with some exception, have been angry, alienated, emotionally trouble young men who act out these incredibly deviant cultural scripts and have access to firearms.

3. Gamal Fouda:

   This person is brain-washed, terrorists who do such inhumane and vile acts do not belong to any religion. They act out of sheer hate, and they have no place in our country. Our first thoughts and prayers are for the victims and their families.

4. Amy Sherman-Palladino:

   Rory never really acted out, and at some point had to act out, she had to push away to grow and become her own person… I felt like it was really important for the characters to have this moment of ‘what are our lives if we’re not close, because I’ve counted on that.'.

5. Isaac Mashman:

   To act out of desperation is to act out of instinct. To let oneself get to that point however, is to ignore self-preservation.

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=act out
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Act_Out
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_Out