Act and Overture

Act

Act noun - A performance regularly presented by an individual or group.

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Overture and act are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Overture" instead a noun "Act".

Nearby Words: acting, acted

Overture noun - A performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event.

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Act and overture are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Act" instead a noun "Overture".

old	old act	old overture
particular	particular act	particular overture
original	original act	original overture
actual	actual act	actual overture
Other adjectives: little, main, famous, new, final.

In The Cat and the Fiddle, which has an Opening Ballet instead of an overture, the Entr'acte begins with music from the first act's dueling pianists scene.

Source: Medley Overture
Entr'actes (sometimes spelled "Entr'act") for musicals were often written in a similar medley style, and could be found in musicals that otherwise had no overture; cast recordings of shows often substituted them for the actual overtures.

Source: Medley Overture
The Sound of Music begins with A Cappella chanting instead of an overture, but still has an Entr'acte medley of the title song, "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," "Do-Re-Mi" and "The Lonely Goatherd," the last of which is briefly sung by Max and the children as the curtain rises on the second act.

Source: Medley Overture

Cite this Source

Overture and Act. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 07, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/act/overture

Act & Overture. N.p., 2016. Web. 07 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/act/overture>.

Overture or Act. 2016. Accessed August 07, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/act/overture.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "act" and "overture" have occurred on timeline