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act |
7 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Act \Act\, v. i. 1. To exert power; to produce an effect; as the stomach acts upon food. 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 He hangs between, in doubt to act or rest. --Pope. 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 4. To perform on the stage; to represent a character. To show the world how Garrick did not act --Cowper. {To act as} or {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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 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. That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love. --Wordsworth. 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. 2. A state of reality or real existence as opposed to a possibility or possible existence. [Obs.] The seeds of plants are not at first in act but in possibility, what they afterward grow to be --Hooker. 3. Process of doing action In act in the very doing on the point of (doing). ``In act to shoot.'' --Dryden. This woman was taken . . . in the very act --John viii. 4. {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. Syn: See {Action}. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 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.] Self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul. --Pope. 2. To perform; to execute; to do [Archaic] That we act our temporal affairs with a desire no greater than our necessity. --Jer. Taylor. Industry doth beget by producing good habits, and facility of acting things expedient for us to do --Barrow. Uplifted hands that at convenient times Could act extortion and the worst of crimes. --Cowper. 3. To perform, as an actor; to represent dramatically on the stage. 4. To assume the office or character of to play; to personate; as to act the hero. 5. To feign or counterfeit; to simulate. With acted fear the villain thus pursued. --Dryden. {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 From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: act n 1: a legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body [syn: {enactment}] 2: something that people do or cause to happen [syn: {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: {routine}, {number}, {turn}, {bit}] 5: a manifestation of insincerity; "he put on quite an act for her benefit" 6: the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents; "the process of thinking"; "the act of remembering" [syn: {process}, {cognitive process}, {operation}, {cognitive operation}] v 1: perform an action "think before you act"; "We must move quickly" [syn: {move}] [ant: {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?" [syn: {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" [syn: {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: {play}, {act as}] 6: be suitable for theatrical performance: "This scene acts well" 7: have a desired effect; do the trick; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly" [syn: {work}] 8: behave unnaturally or affectedly; "She's just acting" [syn: {dissemble}, {pretend}] 9: perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He acted in "Julius Caesar"; "I played in "A Christmas Carol" [syn: {play}, {roleplay}, {playact}] From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: ACT 1.{Annual Change Traffic}. 2. {Ada Core Technologies}. (1999-06-24) From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: ACT++ A {concurrent} extension of {C++} based on {actors}. ["ACT++: Building a Concurrent C++ With Actors", D.G. Kafura TR89-18, VPI, 1989]. (1994-11-08) From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms 13 March 2001 [vera]: ACT Architecture Characterization Template (DISA)
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