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Synonyms

actor

1 American  
[ak-ter] / ˈæk tər /

noun

  1. a person who acts in stage plays, motion pictures, television broadcasts, etc.

  2. a person who does something; participant.


Actor 2 American  
[ak-ter] / ˈæk tər /

noun

Classical Mythology.
  1. a brother of King Augeas, sometimes believed to be the father, by Molione, of Eurytus and Cteatus.


actor British  
/ ˈæktə /

noun

  1. a person who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc

  2. informal a person who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others (often in the phrase bad actor )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

The term actor is almost universally used nowadays to refer to people of either gender who act

Other Word Forms

  • nonactor noun

Etymology

Origin of actor

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin āctor, equivalent to āg- ( act ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I think we can all, as actors, relate to not getting something you are sure you deserved.

From Los Angeles Times

Her home is a shrine to Regency England; a life-size cutout of actor Colin Firth—from what many consider the best of the many renditions of “Pride & Prejudice”—stands watch over her much-ruffled bedroom.

From The Wall Street Journal

It opens in Portofino, the Italian town where the actor Richard Burton first proposed to her - and where she spent four of her eight honeymoons.

From BBC

Recently, actor Samuel L. Jackson joined their roster of supporters.

From Los Angeles Times

He’d written a mediocre poem but had performed like a trained actor, which made his mediocre poem sound excellent.

From Literature