act and represent share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. act means “perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)”. represent means “take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to”. act is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈækt/
1.v.perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
“think before you act”
2.v.behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself
“You should act like an adult”
3.v.play a role or part
“Gielgud played Hamlet”
/ˌɹɛpɹɪˈzɛnt/
1.v.take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to
“Because of the sound changes in the course of history, an `h' in Greek stands for an `s' in Latin”
2.v.express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol
“What does the Statue of Liberty symbolize?”
3.v.be representative or typical for
“This period is represented by Beethoven”
| act | represent | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈækt/ | /ˌɹɛpɹɪˈzɛnt/ |
| Said | akt | reh-pri-ZENT |
| Syllables | 1 | 3 |
| Letters | 3 | 9 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | verb |
| Senses | 15 | 15 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | move | stand for, correspond |
Full entry for act · Full entry for represent · More comparisons