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Contents
act definition
Overview
This page has 31 definitions of act with English translations in 5 languages. Act is a noun, verb and conjunction. Examples of how to use act in a sentence are shown. Also define these 37 related words and terms: deed, actuality, theology, work, legislative body, statute, drama, theatrical, performance, performer, behaviour, thesis, candidate, degree, proficiency, student, deceive, perform, behave, certain, indefinite, copular verb, on, upon, effect, role, feign, mathematics, group, map, homomorphism, automorphism, acht, act, action, enact, and decree.
English act definition
Etymology
From Middle English acte, from Old French acte, from Latin ācta (“register of events”), plural of āctum (“decree, law”), from agō (“put in motion”). Compare German Akte (“file”). Partially displaced deed, from Old English dǣd (“act, deed”).
Pronunciation
Noun
act (countable and uncountable, plural acts)
- (countable) Something done, a deed.
- an act of goodwill
- 1798, William Wordsworth, Lines
- That best portion of a good man's life, / His little, nameless, unremembered acts / Of kindness and of love.
- (obsolete, uncountable) Actuality.
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be.
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- (theology) Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work.
Theology definition
The study of God, a god, or gods; and of the truthfulness of religion in general. (1 of 7 theology definitions)
- (countable) A product of a legislative body, a statute.
- 2012 March 1, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 2, page 87:
- But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.
Legislative Body definition
A political institution which holds the legislative power in a state, and often controls the executive power. (1 of 2 legislative body definitions)
- The process of doing something.
- He was caught in the act of stealing.
- (countable) A formal or official record of something done.
- (countable, drama) A division of a theatrical performance.
- 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Lisson Grove Mystery[2]:
- “H'm !” he said, “so, so—it is a tragedy in a prologue and three acts. I am going down this afternoon to see the curtain fall for the third time on what [...] will prove a good burlesque ; but it all began dramatically enough. It was last Saturday […] that two boys, playing in the little spinney just outside Wembley Park Station, came across three large parcels done up in American cloth. […]”
- The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act.
Drama definition
A composition, normally in prose, telling a story and intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue (1 of 5 drama definitions)
Performance definition
The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; execution; achievement; accomplishment; representation by action. (1 of 5 performance definitions)
- (countable) A performer or performers in a show.
- Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?
Performer definition
One who performs for, or entertains, an audience. (1 of 2 performer definitions)
- (countable) Any organized activity.
- 1934, Babette Hughes, One egg: a farce in one act, page 46:
- The minute you let it be known you're planning a sales campaign everybody wants to get into the act.
- (countable) A display of behaviour.
Behaviour definition
Alternative spelling of behavior
- A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.
Thesis definition
Senses relating to logic, rhetoric, etc.- A proposition or statement supported by arguments.
- A lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis (sense 1.1), especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree; a dissertation.
- An affirmation, or distinction from a supposition or hypothesis.
- In the dialectical method of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: the initial stage of reasoning where a formal statement of a point is developed; this is followed by antithesis and synthesis.
Degree definition
A stage of proficiency or qualification in a course of study, now especially an award bestowed by a university or, in some countries, a college, as a certification of academic achievement. (In the United States, can include secondary schools.) (1 of 16 degree definitions)
Student definition
A person who studies or learns about a particular subject. (1 of 3 student definitions)
- (countable) A display of behaviour meant to deceive.
- to put on an act
Synonyms
- (something done): deed; see also Thesaurus:action
- (product of a legislative body): statute
- (display of behavior): pretense
Meronyms
- (drama): scene
Holonyms
- (drama): play
Derived terms
- actless
- act of attainder
- act of faith
- act of god/act of God
- act of parliament
- act of settlement
- act of terrorism
- act of war
- Acts of the Apostles
- balancing act
- caught in the act
- get one's act together
- read someone the riot act
- support act
- tough act to follow
Related terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Dictionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
act (third-person singular simple present acts, present participle acting, simple past and past participle acted)
- (intransitive) To do something.
- If you don't act soon, you will be in trouble.
- (obsolete, transitive) To do (something); to perform.
- 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living, Purity of Intention
- that we act our temporal affairs with a desire no greater than our necessity
- a. 1677, Isaac Barrow, Of Industry in General (sermon)
- Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do.
- 1782, William Cowper, Expostulation
- Uplifted hands that at convenient times / Could act extortion and the worst of crimes.
- 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living, Purity of Intention
- (intransitive) To perform a theatrical role.
- I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.
- (intransitive) Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).
- 2011, Effiong Johnson, Play Production Processes, page 180:
- But whatever types he assumes, the need to have a good play which acts delightfully well before the audience, and to their delectation, is the dominant thrust. If the play acts well, the director gets the credits.
- (intransitive) To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time.
- A dog which acts aggressively is likely to bite.
- I believe that Bill's stuck-up because of the way that he acts.
- He's acting strangely - I think there's something wrong with him.
Behave definition
To conduct (oneself) well, or in a given way. (1 of 4 behave definitions)
Indefinite definition
Without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite. (1 of 5 indefinite definitions)
- (copulative) To convey an appearance of being.
- He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn't worry.
- (intransitive) To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.
- act on behalf of John
- (intransitive, construed with on or upon) To have an effect (on).
- Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.
- (transitive) To play (a role).
- He's been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.
- (transitive) To feign.
- He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.
- 1697, “The Second Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432:
- With acted fear the villain thus pursued.
Feign definition
To make a false show or pretence of; to counterfeit or simulate. (1 of 4 feign definitions)
- (mathematics, intransitive, construed with on or upon, of a group) To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of).
- This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!
Group definition
A number of things or persons being in some relation to one another. (1 of 15 group definitions)
Map definition
A visual representation of an area, whether real or imaginary, showing the relative positions of places and other features. (1 of 6 map definitions)
Homomorphism definition
A structure-preserving map between two algebraic structures of the same type, such as groups, rings, or vector spaces. (1 of 2 homomorphism definitions)
Automorphism definition
An isomorphism of a mathematical object or system of objects onto itself. (1 of 2 automorphism definitions)
- (obsolete, transitive) To move to action; to actuate; to animate.
- 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], OCLC 960856019:
- Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Dictionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Anagrams
Old Irish act definition
Conjunction
act
- Alternative spelling of acht (“but”)
Acht definition
eight
Romanian act definition
Etymology
Borrowed from French acte, from Latin actus.
Noun
act n (plural acte)
Related terms
See also
Further reading
- act in DEX online - Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
Scots act definition
Pronunciation
Noun
act (plural acts)
- an act
Verb
act (third-person singular present acts, present participle actin, past actit, past participle actit)
References
- Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.
Welsh act definition
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
act f (plural actau)
Derived terms
Mutation
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
act | unchanged | unchanged | hact |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
- “act”, in R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies, 1950–present