act out
Misbehave or pantomime
Act out means to express something through behavior rather than words.
Children act out when they misbehave to signal distress they can't articulate: He's been acting out since his parents divorced.
In theater and therapy, to act out is to perform or dramatize: Let's act out the scenario.
The phrase can also mean to fulfill: acting out a fantasy.
Uncontrolled display of frustration
- outburstSudden emotional release
- misbehaveConduct oneself poorly
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
- disobeyRefuse to comply
disruptive · unruly · attention-seeking · impulsive · aggression · naughtiness · misconduct · troublemaking
Adopt another's perspective
- portrayRepresent through performance
- dramatizeDepict with heightened emotion
- reenactPerform a past event
- improvisePerform without preparation
pantomime · rehearse · scene · skit · charades · simulate · demonstrate · depict
Therapy through enacted scenes
- roleplayAdopt another's perspective
- catharsisPurification through emotional expression
- processingSystematic operation on data
- externalizeExpress inwardly held feelings
express · trauma · scenario · therapy · feelings · emotions · confrontation · resolution
tantrum
Uncontrolled display of frustration
disobey · disruptive · unruly · attention-seeking · impulsive · aggression · naughtiness · misconduct · troublemaking · disturbance
roleplay
Adopt another's perspective
- portrayRepresent through performance
- dramatizeDepict with heightened emotion
- reenactPerform a past event
improvise · pantomime · rehearse · scene · skit · charades · simulate · demonstrate · depict · interpret
psychodrama
Therapy through enacted scenes
- roleplayAdopt another's perspective
- catharsisPurification through emotional expression
- processingSystematic operation on data
externalize · express · trauma · scenario · therapy · feelings · emotions · confrontation · resolution · exploration
- making troublemake waves, stir the pot, raise Cain, kick up a fuss, upset the apple cart
- misbehaviormisbehave, misbehavior, mischief, misconduct, naughty
- phrasal verbspick up, look at, put down, turn on, turn off
- pretendingpretend, pretending, fake, feign, make-believe
- standupstandup, bit, set, punchline, setup
- presentationpresent, deliver, introduce, demonstrate, display
act outinternalize
Adopt beliefs as one's own
bottle up · suppress · hold in · repress · contain oneself
act outbehave
Act in acceptable ways
behave oneself · comply · conform · obey · toe the line
act outread through
Examine text completely
table read · read aloud · visualize · imagine · observe
act, action, actor, out, acting, actress, react, actions, acts