reactverb [ I ]
uk/riˈækt/us/riˈækt/B2 to act in a particular way as a direct result of something else:
She slapped him and called him names, but he didn't react.
The judge reacted angrily to the suggestion that it hadn't been a fair trial.
Many people react (badly) to (= are made ill by) penicillin.
chemistry to change in a physical or chemical way when put with another substance:
Potassium reacts with water.
More examples
- It's difficult to gauge how they'll react.
- She slapped him and called him names, but he didn't react.
- The prime minister reacted angrily to claims that he had lied to the House of Commons.
- She reacted surprisingly calmly to the news of his death.
- The government was very slow to react to the problem.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Reacting and responding
- backlash
- bite
- bite back (at sb/sth)
- chain reaction
- counteract
- greet
- knob
- reactive
- recoil
- reflexively
- respond
- response
- responsive
- rise
- rise to the occasion/challenge idiom
- sensitive
- shock wave
- strike
- wake (sb) up
- worm
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Phrasal verb(s)
react against sth