Definition of "act out"

act out

/ˌækt ˈaʊ̯t/

verb
third-person singular simple present acts out, present participle acting out, simple past and past participle acted out
1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see act,‎ out.
2. (transitive) To perform something specific.
  Quotations
  What was acted out in the American and French Revolutions had been thought out beforehand in the writings of Locke and Rousseau, the scenarists for the drama of modern politics.
  1987, Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students
  1. (idiomatic) To perform a scene from a play, a charade or an exercise.
  2. (idiomatic) To perform a fantasy in reality.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To express internal feelings or thoughts.
  1. To express one's feelings through disruptive actions.
  2. To express ideas or desires through actions rather than words.