What is the meaning of acting?

noun

• The performance of a part or role in a drama.
  • synonyms: playing, playacting, performing

verb

• Perform an action, or work out or perform (an action. )
  • usage: "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"
  • synonyms: act, move
• Behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself.
  • usage: "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"
  • synonyms: act, behave, do
• Play a role or part.
  • usage: "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role"; "She played the servant to her husband's master"
  • synonyms: act, play, represent
• Discharge one's duties.
  • usage: "She acts as the chair"; "In what capacity are you acting"
  • synonyms: act
• Pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind.
  • usage: "He acted the idiot"; "She plays deaf when the news are bad"
  • synonyms: act, play, act as
• Be suitable for theatrical performance.
  • usage: "This scene acts well"
  • synonyms: act
• Have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected.
  • usage: "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice"; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water"
  • synonyms: work, act
• Be engaged in an activity, often for no particular purpose other than pleasure.
  • synonyms: act
• Behave unnaturally or affectedly.
  • usage: "She's just acting"
  • synonyms: dissemble, pretend, act
• Perform on a stage or theater.
  • usage: "She acts in this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'"
  • synonyms: act, play, roleplay, playact

adjective

• Serving temporarily especially as a substitute.
  • usage: "the acting president"