- act
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 thing that sb doesADJECTIVE▪ charitable, kind▪ heroic, selfless▪
a heroic act of bravery
▪ aggressive, barbaric, hostile, provocative, terrorist, violent▪He was arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist acts.
▪ appalling (esp. BrE), cowardly, despicable, heinous, horrific, immoral, outrageous, terrible, unspeakable▪appalling acts of cruelty
▪horrific acts of violence
▪ criminal, delinquent (esp. AmE), illegal, unlawful, wrongful▪ careless (esp. BrE), foolish, impulsive▪ conscious, deliberate, intentional, positive, voluntary, wilful/willful▪The company says that the explosion was no accident but a deliberate act of sabotage.
▪ private, public▪a private act of revenge
▪ creative, dramatic, physical, political, symbolic▪ homosexual, sex, sexual▪ random▪random acts of violence
VERB + ACT▪ carry out, commit (law), perform, perpetrate▪images of African Americans performing heroic acts
▪charged with committing an act of gross indecency
▪ condemn▪ condone, justify▪ prevent▪ witnessPREPOSITION▪ in the act of (= while doing something)▪ act of▪For Jane, the act of writing was always difficult.
PHRASES▪ an act of faith, an act of love, an act of violence, an act of will, an act of worship▪ a hard act to follow, a tough act to follow▪Their contribution will prove a hard act to follow.
▪ catch sb in the act (of doing sth)▪He was caught in the act of stealing.
▪ the simple act of doing sth, the very act of doing sth▪The very act of writing out your plan clarifies what you need to do.
2 law made by a governmentVERB + ACT▪ bring in (BrE), introduce, pass▪The Act was passed by a majority of 175 votes to 143.
▪ amend▪ repeal▪The old act has now been repealed.
▪ breach (esp. BrE), contravene (BrE), violate (esp. AmE)▪The company had violated the Data Security Act of 2006.
ACT + VERB▪ become law, come into force (BrE)▪The new Children's Act will become law next year.
▪ contain sth, say sth, state sth▪The act contains regulations for financial institutions.
▪ apply to sth▪The 1995 act applies only to food and not to dietary supplements.
▪ require sth▪ prohibit sthPREPOSITION▪ under an/the act▪He was charged under the Firearms Act.
3 entertainment; entertainersADJECTIVE▪ class (informal) (used for sb who does sth well)▪Their new player looks a class act.
▪ solo▪ double▪comedy double act French and Saunders
▪ live▪their reputation as one of rock's most impressive live acts
▪ main, support▪The main act will come on at about ten o'clock.
▪ opening▪ cabaret, circus, comedy, dance, drag, music, musical, novelty, stage, stand-up, variety▪The club offers live music and cabaret acts.
▪The group is merely a novelty act (= an act that is only interesting because it is strange or unusual).
▪ hip-hop, pop, rock, etc.▪ balancing, disappearing, juggling, vanishing (all figurative)▪The cat had done a disappearing act.
▪The UN must perform a difficult balancing act between the two sides in the conflict.
VERB + ACT▪ do, perform▪He does a little novelty act.
▪ rehearse, work on▪I have to work on my act.
4 division of a playADJECTIVE▪ opening▪ final, last▪ first, second, etc.PREPOSITION▪ in (the) act▪The king is killed in the opening act.
5 insincere actionsVERB + ACT▪ put on▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}Don't take any notice—she's just putting on an act!
verb1 do sth/behaveADVERB▪ at once, immediately, promptly, quickly, swiftly▪The government must act promptly to change this law.
▪ appropriately, correctly, legally, properly▪ dishonestly, illegally, improperly, inappropriately, unconstitutionally, unlawfully, wrongly▪The country's highest court ruled that police had acted unlawfully.
▪ rationally, reasonably, responsibly, sensibly (esp. BrE), wisely▪All citizens have a duty to act responsibly and show respect to others.
▪ irrationally, irresponsibly, rashly, unreasonably▪ oddly, strangely, suspiciously▪Jenny has been acting rather strangely recently.
▪ bravely, heroically▪ decisively▪The government was criticized for failing to act decisively.
▪ aggressively▪ independently, unilaterally▪ effectively▪ in self-defence/self-defense▪The jury accepted that he had acted in self-defence/self-defense.
▪ accordingly▪George knew about the letter and acted accordingly.
PREPOSITION▪ against▪The government needs to act against the sale of these dangerous toys.
▪ for sb, on behalf of sb▪His lawyers are continuing to act for him.
▪ like▪Stop acting like a spoiled child.
▪hormones in the brain that act like natural painkillers
▪ on▪Alcohol acts quickly on the brain.
▪ out of▪I suspected that he was acting out of malice.
PHRASES▪ act as if▪She was acting as if she owned the place.
▪ act in sb's best interests▪We are all acting in the best interests of the children.
▪ act in good faith▪His excuse was that he had acted in good faith.
2 perform in a play, film/movie, etc.ADVERB▪ brilliantly, well▪The play is well acted.
▪ badly, poorlyAct is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑actor, actress
Collocations dictionary. 2013.