acting

noun

(uncountable, drama) The occupation of an actor.

(uncountable) Pretending.

(countable, law) Something done by a party—so called to avoid confusion with the legal senses of deed and action.

(countable, now rare) An action or deed.

adjective

Temporarily assuming the duties or authority of another person when they are unable to do their job.

Roots

agoact- · Latin · do, drive

Synonyms for acting

playactingn performingn playingn overactingn pantomimingn mimingn performancen doingv actionn impersonationn

Synonyms & related words for acting

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of acting — including playacting, performing, playing, overacting, pantomiming, miming. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to acting

Explore words related to acting — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include acted, underact, stagestruck, thespian, actors, hamming, actable, directing. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for acting

Common synonyms for acting include playacting, performing, playing, overacting, pantomiming, miming, performance, doing — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does acting come from?

The word acting breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root act-, from Latin ago (“do, drive”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.