Result from Foreign Dictionaries (7 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Act \Act\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Acted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Acting}.] [L. actus, p. p. of agere to drive, lead, do; but influenced by E. act, n.] 1. To move to action; to actuate; to animate. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul. --Pope. [1913 Webster] 2. To perform; to execute; to do. [Archaic] [1913 Webster] That we act our temporal affairs with a desire no greater than our necessity. --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster] Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do. --Barrow. [1913 Webster] Uplifted hands that at convenient times Could act extortion and the worst of crimes. --Cowper. [1913 Webster] 3. To perform, as an actor; to represent dramatically on the stage. [1913 Webster] 4. To assume the office or character of; to play; to personate; as, to act the hero. [1913 Webster] 5. To feign or counterfeit; to simulate. [1913 Webster] With acted fear the villain thus pursued. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] {To act a part}, to sustain the part of one of the characters in a play; hence, to simulate; to dissemble. {To act the part of}, to take the character of; to fulfill the duties of. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Act \Act\ ([a^]kt), n. [L. actus, fr. agere to drive, do: cf. F. acte. See {Agent}.] 1. That which is done or doing; the exercise of power, or the effect, of which power exerted is the cause; a performance; a deed. [1913 Webster] That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love. --Wordsworth. [1913 Webster] Hence, in specific uses: (a) The result of public deliberation; the decision or determination of a legislative body, council, court of justice, etc.; a decree, edit, law, judgment, resolve, award; as, an act of Parliament, or of Congress. (b) A formal solemn writing, expressing that something has been done. --Abbott. (c) A performance of part of a play; one of the principal divisions of a play or dramatic work in which a certain definite part of the action is completed. (d) A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student. [1913 Webster] 2. A state of reality or real existence as opposed to a possibility or possible existence. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] The seeds of plants are not at first in act, but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be. --Hooker. [1913 Webster] 3. Process of doing; action. In act, in the very doing; on the point of (doing). "In act to shoot." --Dryden. [1913 Webster] This woman was taken . . . in the very act. --John viii. 4. [1913 Webster] {Act of attainder}. (Law) See {Attainder}. {Act of bankruptcy} (Law), an act of a debtor which renders him liable to be adjudged a bankrupt. {Act of faith}. (Ch. Hist.) See {Auto-da-F['e]}. {Act of God} (Law), an inevitable accident; such extraordinary interruption of the usual course of events as is not to be looked for in advance, and against which ordinary prudence could not guard. {Act of grace}, an expression often used to designate an act declaring pardon or amnesty to numerous offenders, as at the beginning of a new reign. {Act of indemnity}, a statute passed for the protection of those who have committed some illegal act subjecting them to penalties. --Abbott. {Act in pais}, a thing done out of court (anciently, in the country), and not a matter of record. [1913 Webster] Syn: See {Action}. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Act \Act\, v. i. 1. To exert power; to produce an effect; as, the stomach acts upon food. [1913 Webster] 2. To perform actions; to fulfill functions; to put forth energy; to move, as opposed to remaining at rest; to carry into effect a determination of the will. [1913 Webster] He hangs between, in doubt to act or rest. --Pope. [1913 Webster] 3. To behave or conduct, as in morals, private duties, or public offices; to bear or deport one's self; as, we know not why he has acted so. [1913 Webster] 4. To perform on the stage; to represent a character. [1913 Webster] To show the world how Garrick did not act. --Cowper. [1913 Webster] {To act as} or {To act for}, to do the work of; to serve as. {To act on}, to regulate one's conduct according to. {To act up to}, to equal in action; to fulfill in practice; as, he has acted up to his engagement or his advantages. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: act n 1: a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body [syn: {act}, {enactment}] 2: something that people do or cause to happen [syn: {act}, {deed}, {human action}, {human activity}] 3: a subdivision of a play or opera or ballet 4: a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program; "he did his act three times every evening"; "she had a catchy little routine"; "it was one of the best numbers he ever did" [syn: {act}, {routine}, {number}, {turn}, {bit}] 5: a manifestation of insincerity; "he put on quite an act for her benefit" v 1: perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "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" [syn: {act}, {move}] [ant: {forbear}, {refrain}] 2: behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "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" [syn: {act}, {behave}, {do}] 3: play a role or part; "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" [syn: {act}, {play}, {represent}] 4: discharge one's duties; "She acts as the chair"; "In what capacity are you acting?" 5: pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind; "He acted the idiot"; "She plays deaf when the news are bad" [syn: {act}, {play}, {act as}] 6: be suitable for theatrical performance; "This scene acts well" 7: have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "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" [syn: {work}, {act}] 8: be engaged in an activity, often for no particular purpose other than pleasure 9: behave unnaturally or affectedly; "She's just acting" [syn: {dissemble}, {pretend}, {act}] 10: perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'" [syn: {act}, {play}, {roleplay}, {playact}] From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2013) [vera]: ACT Application Compatibility Toolkit (MS, Windows, Vista) From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2013) [vera]: ACT Architecture Characterization Template (DISA) From Dutch-English Freedict Dictionary ver. 0.1.3 [fd-nld-eng]: act /ɑkt/ act