counteract
Americanverb (used with object)
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counteracts,
present (3rd person singular)
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counteracted,
past participle, past
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counteracting
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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counteracternoun
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counteractionnoun
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counteractornoun
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counteractantadjective
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counteractiveadjective
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noncounteractiveadjective
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uncounteractedadjective
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counteractinglyadverb
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counteractivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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counteractsimple
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counteractssimple
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have counteractedperfect
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has counteractedperfect
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am counteractingprogressive
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are counteractingprogressive
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is counteractingprogressive
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have been counteractingperfect progressive
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has been counteractingperfect progressive
Past
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counteractedsimple
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had counteractedperfect
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was counteractingprogressive
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were counteractingprogressive
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had been counteractingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of counteract
Explanation
To counteract is to work against something in an attempt to reverse it or cancel it out. You can try to counteract the neighbors' annoyance at your loud music by bringing them some homemade brownies. When you counteract something, you act counter — or in opposition — to it. To counteract rising global temperatures, we have to reduce the greenhouse gases flowing into the atmosphere. In order to counteract the effects of a long sleepless night, you may want to drink a cup of coffee or tea. And a good way to counteract a limited vocabulary is to learn a new word every day!
Vocabulary lists containing counteract
"Don't ban peanuts at school"
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Academic Vocabulary, Unit 3
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Part 3 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Postal Service to counteract its growing financial losses while the agency is “in the midst of the severe financial crisis amid rising operational costs.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
Phone companies have also introduced features which help people track their screen time and restrict access to certain apps in an attempt to counteract the addictive loop many of us get caught in.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
“Those micro doses of movement throughout the day can counteract the effects.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
This was an implicit commitment by the Fed to counteract sharp declines in the market by pumping liquidity into the economy through the mass purchase of Treasury bonds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
He clawed again for the copper and looped the wiring around his hand to counteract its slickness.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
Gravity makes dark matter clump together, but dark energy counteracts this effect.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2024
Now, researchers report that a once-promising new drug, an antibody that counteracts a pernicious toxin in the viper’s venom, has failed in animal trials.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 16, 2024
"I do believe that we can win," he counteracts, "and I won't stop fighting until we do."
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024
"For example, Denmark is a pioneer when it comes to producing biogas. But if just a few percent of the methane from this process escapes, it counteracts any climate gains," concludes Johnson.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 18, 2023
This counteracts the immense pressure on the bottom of the dam.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Einstein selected a value that counteracted the gravitational pull of matter, allowing the universe to remain stable.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
And one 10-second play from Friday’s Game 2 shows just how the Knicks have counteracted the player known as The Alien—by manipulating space and time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Drones can also be counteracted with “kinetic” systems, which can shoot down drones.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
The second is when the key holds are removed and the self-reinforcing dynamics are counteracted by, for example, a new bumper harvest or the provision of scaled-up humanitarian assistance.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2024
The Spaniards counteracted this threat by inventing a pretext to seize the tlatoani in his own palace, making him first their captive and then their puppet.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
But there are other pathways counteracting that, so eventually you might start to gain some weight back, says Apovian.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
The researchers also observed brain activity patterns that resembled the effects of a good night's sleep, counteracting the typical brain changes associated with sleep deprivation.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 29, 2025
It has an inclined tourbillon, a feature aimed at improving accuracy by counteracting gravity, which adds to its rarity in the watch world.
From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2024
There is no way of counteracting this weapon, which attacks targets at a speed of 10 Mach, or 2.5-3km/s, he said.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2024
Thus there is both a steady flow of genes among maize landraces and a force counteracting that flow.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
