counterreaction

noun

coun·ter·re·ac·tion ˌkau̇n-tər-rē-ˈak-shən

variants or counter-reaction

plural counterreactions or counter-reactions

Synonyms of counterreaction next

: a reaction in response or opposition to the main reaction

This situation … is inherently unstable and was bound to produce a counterreaction.—

David Brooks

… tax cuts could only stimulate so much growth. At worst, they could trigger too severe a counterreaction by the Fed, which might throw the economy into recession.—

The New Republic

a literary counter-reaction to modernism

Examples of counterreaction in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Wouldn’t that mean that the modern system of VCs funding startups—and ultimately, companies like Apple and Google— was based on a counterreaction to the white-supremecist ethos that Harris finds tucked away in every corner of his hometown? —

Steven Levy, WIRED, 3 Mar. 2023 That may contribute to a cycle of reaction and counterreaction that could deteriorate into outright conflict. —

Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2022 The most extreme step -- one that is still being debated -- would be to cut Russia off from the global financial settlement system, called SWIFT, but some European officials have feared that step might provoke too harsh a counterreaction. —

Arkansas Online, 8 Dec. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of counterreaction was in 1848

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Counterreaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterreaction. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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