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act
act / akt/ • v. [intr.] 1. take action; do something: they urged Washington to act. ∎ (act on) take action according to or in the light of: I shall certainly act on his suggestion. ∎ (act for) take action in order to bring about: one's ability to act for community change. ∎ (act for/on behalf of) represent (someone) on a contractual, legal, or paid basis: he chose an attorney to act for him. ∎ (act from/out of) be motivated by: you acted from greed. 2. behave in the way specified: the man who was acting suspiciously. ∎ (act as/like) behave in the manner of: try to act like civilized adults. 3. (act as) fulfill the function or serve the purpose of: they need volunteers to act as foster parents. ∎ have the effect of: a five-year sentence will act as a deterrent. 4. take effect; have a particular effect: bacteria act on proteins and sugar. 5. perform a fictional role in a play, movie, or television production: she acted in her first professional role at the age of six. ∎ [tr.] perform (a part or role). ∎ behave so as to appear to be; pretend to be: I acted dumb at first. ∎ [tr.] (act something out) perform a narrative as if it were a play: encouraging students to act out the stories. ∎ [tr.] (act something out) Psychoanalysis express repressed or unconscious feelings in overt behavior. • n. 1. a thing done; a deed: a criminal act. 2. [in sing.] a pretense: she was putting on an act and laughing a lot. ∎ a particular type of behavior or routine: he did his Sir Galahad act. 3. Law a written ordinance of Congress, or another legislative body; a statute: the act to abolish slavery. ∎ a document attesting a legal transaction. ∎ (often acts) dated the recorded decisions or proceedings of a committee or an academic body. 4. a main division of a play, ballet, or opera. ∎ a set performance: her one-woman poetry act. ∎ a performing group: a sisters act. PHRASES: act of God an instance of uncontrollable natural forces in operation (often used in insurance claims). catch someone in the act surprise someone in the process of doing something wrong: the thieves were caught in the act. clean up one's act behave in a more acceptable manner. get one's act together inf. organize oneself in the manner required in order to achieve something. in the act of in the process of: they photographed him in the act of reading other people's mail. read the Riot Actsee Riot Act.PHRASAL VERBS: act out misbehave, esp. when unhappy or stressed. act up (of a thing) fail to function properly. ∎ (of a person) misbehave. DERIVATIVES: act·a·bil·i·ty / ˌaktəˈbilitē/ n. (in sense 5 of the verb). act·a·ble adj. (in sense 5 of the verb). |
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"act." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "act." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-act005.html "act." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-act005.html |
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Act
Act, division of a play, each of which may contain one or more scenes. Greek plays were continuous, the only pauses being marked by the chorus. Horace was the first to advocate the division of tragedies into five acts, a suggestion followed during the Renaissance by academic dramatists. The first English writer to adopt it was Ben Jonson. There is no proof that Shakespeare divided his plays thus, and the divisions in the printed copies were probably introduced by the editors in imitation of Jonson. In comedy more licence was allowed to the individual, two or three acts being quite usual, even in Molière. Modern drama usually keeps to three acts, as being convenient for actors and audience alike, but two acts are sometimes found, and many Shakespeare revivals are performed with only one interval. Division into four acts, found mainly in the 19th century, is now rare.
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Act." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Act." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Act.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Act." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Act.html |
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Act
ACTSomething done; usually, something done intentionally or voluntarily or with a purpose. The term encompasses not only physical acts—such as turning on the water or purchasing a gun—but also refers to more intangible acts such as adopting a decree, edict, law, judgment, award, or determination. An act may be a private act, done by an individual managing his or her personal affairs, or it may be a public act, done by an official, a council, or a court. When a bill is favorably acted upon in the process of legislation, it becomes an act. |
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"Act." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Act." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3437700101.html "Act." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3437700101.html |
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ACT
ACT (Association of Consumers and Tax Payers) (New Zealand) A neo-liberal political party founded in 1994 by Roger Douglas and Derek Quigley to promote a neo-liberal agenda of low taxation, limited government, and personal responsibility. Positioned to the right of the National Party, it presented itself as a formidable rival for some of the National Party's constituency. Led by Richard Prebble from 1996, it gained eight seats in the 1996 elections, and nine seats in 1999.
http://www.act.org.nz |
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "ACT." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "ACT." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-ACT.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "ACT." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-ACT.html |
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act
act deed XIV; legislative decree XV; section of a drama XVII. Mainly — L. āctus doing, āctum public transaction, f. āct-, pp. stem of agere do; partly through F. acte.
So act vb. XV. |
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T. F. HOAD. "act." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "act." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-act.html T. F. HOAD. "act." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-act.html |
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ACT
ACT • abbr. ∎ American College Test. ∎ Australian Capital Territory. |
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Cite this article
"ACT." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ACT." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-act.html "ACT." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-act.html |
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act
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GORDON MARSHALL. "act." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. GORDON MARSHALL. "act." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-act.html GORDON MARSHALL. "act." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-act.html |
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act
act
•abreact, abstract, act, attract, bract, compact, contract, counteract, diffract, enact, exact, extract, fact, humpbacked, hunchbacked, impact, interact, matter-of-fact, pact, protract, redact, refract, retroact, subcontract, subtract, tact, tract, transact, unbacked, underact, untracked
•play-act • autodidact
•artefact (US artifact) • cataract
•contact
•marked, unremarked
•Wehrmacht
•affect, bisect, bull-necked, collect, confect, connect, correct, defect, deflect, deject, detect, direct, effect, eject, elect, erect, expect, infect, inflect, inject, inspect, interconnect, interject, intersect, misdirect, neglect, object, perfect, project, prospect, protect, reflect, reject, respect, resurrect, sect, select, subject, suspect, transect, unchecked, Utrecht
•prefect • abject • retroject • intellect
•genuflect • idiolect • dialect • aspect
•circumspect • retrospect • Dordrecht
•vivisect • architect • unbaked
•sun-baked
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"act." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "act." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-act.html "act." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-act.html |
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