act as

Verb

Meaning

pretend to have certain qualities or state of mind

function as or act like

Source: WordNet

play act

function act serve behave do

To guarantee success, act as if it were impossible to fail. Dorothea Brande

I will act as if what I do makes a difference. William James

If you want a quality, act as if you already had it. William James

If you want to gather a lot of knowledge, act as if you are ignorant. Vietnamese Proverb

If you act as good as you look, you'll never shame your family. American Proverb

The broth is cooking, and now we have to act as one. Bedouin Proverb