Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A person who behaves in the manner of a character, usually by reciting scripted dialogue, in order to entertain an audience, especially in a play, movie, or television show.
- noun One who takes part; a participant.
- noun One, such as the manager of a business, who acts for another.
- noun In civil law, the plaintiff in an action.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who acts or performs; the doer or performer of an action; specifically, one who represents a character or acts a part in a play; a stage-player.
- noun In law: An advocate or a proctor in civil courts or causes.
- noun A plaintiff.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who acts, or takes part in any affair; a doer.
- noun A theatrical performer; a stageplayer.
- noun An advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes.
- noun One who institutes a suit; plaintiff or complainant.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A person who performs in a theatrical play or film.
- noun One who acts; a
doer . - noun One who takes part in a situation.
- noun law An
advocate or proctor in civil courts or causes. - noun law One who institutes a suit;
plaintiff orcomplainant . - noun One who enacts a certain policy action.
- noun software engineering The entity that performs a role (in use case analysis).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who acts and gets things done
- noun a theatrical performer
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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We have heard several English people describe Talma's countenance, as by no means powerful enough for a great actor; it appeared to us, that in no one respect was he so decidedly superior to any _actor_ on the
Travels in France during the years 1814-15 Comprising a residence at Paris, during the stay of the allied armies, and at Aix, at the period of the landing of Bonaparte, in two volumes. Archibald Alison 1829
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"Because it means I can be seen as an actor as opposed to a child actor."
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_actor; _ and when it is nominative to a _neuter_ verb, it is _not_ an actor, but the _subject_ of the verb.
English Grammar in Familiar Lectures Samuel Kirkham
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In most non zombie related horror movies the villain is most often barely seen for the majority of the movie until it's time for the confrontation with the title actor/actress.
Archive 2009-04-01 Josh Bycer 2009
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Warner and CBS have been shopping for a name actor who could keep the highly lucrative sitcom afloat without Sheen.
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"It happens a lot that a name actor will be signed on to a project in its germ stage."
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Since then I've held his work in the highest regard, inclusive of his work as both director and lead as the title actor of Pollock (2000).
Home Theater Forum 2009
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And you'd also be surprised how expensive one actor and stool can be - depending on who the actor is and what the stool looks like.
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This actor is awesome so people should know that he is in this movie! he played the Keymaker in MATRIX RELOADED.
First Look: Sung Kang in James McTeigue's Ninja Assassin « FirstShowing.net 2008
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The screenplay can change if the actor is a big star and wants changes.
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » INTERVIEW: Dale Launer, Part 3 2007
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On Facebook and YouTube in particular, users have published viral posts and videos calling people like Braden “crisis actors”, alleging they were hired to pose as victims.
'I hope someone truly shoots you': online conspiracy theorists harass Vegas victims Sam Levin 2019
Logophile77 commented on the word actor
Used to be only men. Now actress is going the way of thou and thee.
December 19, 2017