acting

1. 1
   stage and filmnoununcountable

   The profession of performing as a character in plays, films, television, or other dramatic works.

   Her years of acting on stage prepared her for film roles.

   Many people underestimate how much physical stamina acting demands.

   UsageUsually no article: she took up acting, he went into acting. Before a noun: acting classes, an acting career.

   Similarperforming, performance

   Note

   The craft and the trade at once: what an actor studies, practices and is paid for, on stage, on screen and on air. It is judged as craft, good or bad acting. That is what separates it from plain pretending, where the performance is meant to pass unnoticed.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of act.

   The committee is acting on the new recommendations immediately.

   By acting quickly, the crew prevented a disaster.

   UsageOften followed by on, as or like (acting on advice, acting like a child), or an adjective: acting strange.

3. 3
   standing inadjective

   Temporarily holding a position or performing its duties while the usual holder is unavailable or a permanent appointment is pending.

   The deputy served as acting director until a permanent replacement was hired.

   An acting head of state signed the treaty during the president's illness.

   UsageGoes right before the job title: acting director, acting CEO. Within a formal title it is often capitalized: Acting Minister.

   Similarinterim, temporary, provisional

   Oppositepermanent

   Note

   The holder is temporary, but the powers are real: an Acting Minister signs what the Minister would have signed.

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