act out

verb

1. (tr) to reproduce (an idea, former event, etc) in actions, often by mime

2. psychiatry to express unconsciously (a repressed impulse or experience) in overt behaviour

Idioms and Phrases

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]

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.”

Example Sentences

She and Beowulf acted out a brief swordfight in which they both met gruesome ends, much like the conclusion of Hamlet.

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Miss Mortimer brought her cups of soothing tea laced with honey, and the children laughed and clapped to see her acting out all her thoughts, rather than speaking them.

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The children happily acted out the scene as he described it, using the velocipede as a stand-in for the elephant.

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But during service, one of the other kids acted out and there was a small commotion.

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But Victoria said he might have acted out because he could not explain his pain.

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Related Words

• display 
• execute 
• give 
• go on 
• offer 
• play 
• present 
• produce 
• represent 
• show 
• stage