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:
AC Milan's win against United, however, may have provided clues as to how teams might counteract Carrick's defensive set-up - notably with the use of a 5-2-3 formation.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
In writing history, there must be intense rigor — evidence is important and if you have evidence that should counteract any bias or hypothesis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
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
“Those micro doses of movement throughout the day can counteract the effects.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
I can’t even sit long enough to draw—I’m pacing back and forth on deck to counteract the motion of the sea again.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
This mysterious form of energy produces an outward pressure that counteracts gravity and prevents complete collapse.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026
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
The shocking presence of bright blue in a white gallery space also counteracts East Germany’s reputation as a colorless place.
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
This counteracts the immense pressure on the bottom of the dam.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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
Bovino’s version of events quickly counteracted by videos of Pretti’s death.
From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2026
In 2025, researchers at the University of Louvain and Imperial College London clarified how this harmful chain reaction might be counteracted.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2025
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
The franc’s strength over the past several months is likely exerting downward price pressure on some goods imports, counteracting the effects of higher energy prices, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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
Their existence had been predicted in 1934 by Japanese physicist Hideki Yukawa, who speculated that they carried the force that binds the atomic nucleus together, counteracting the mutual electromagnetic repulsion of its positively charged protons.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
