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:
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
Over the first two games of the NBA Finals, the Knicks have managed to counteract Victor Wembanyama, the league’s best defender.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Briant said she believes that the only way to counteract increased manipulation through social media influencers is to impose harsh penalties when paid content is not disclosed.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
“Therefore, a drop in U.S. equity prices is needed to unleash disinflationary forces in the broader economy and counteract the inflationary impulse from higher oil and food prices,” Budaghyan said.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
Other voices chimed in—from the head of the University of Oregon’s volcanology department, from Stanford University, and others—to counteract Johnston’s drama.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
It tries to remove psychological and practical barriers to individual choice and counteracts beliefs or values that might dissuade people from adopting new foods.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2024
Now, researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified a previously unknown way in which the body counteracts restricted breathing -- a new reflex of the vagus nerve that initiates deep breathing.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 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
This brief overview of precolonial North America counteracts the settler-colonial myth of the wandering Neolithic hunter and vast unused and uncharted lands.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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
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
So counteracting these systems becomes even more critical.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 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
Among other things, it is involved in counteracting inflammation and healing wounds.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2024
Slowly my starved body responded to food and overcame the lean years of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee, counteracting the flesh-sapping anxiety of fear-filled days.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
