underreact
Americanverb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of underreact
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.
These earnings beats appear to be more of a surprise, and because investors tend to cling to their prior beliefs, they underreact to the unexpectedly good news.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
Doves think the current situation bears little resemblance to 2021-22 and fret that the Fed will underreact to labor-market slowing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025
“We don’t ever want to overreact, but we also don’t want to underreact or be reactive either,” he said.
From Washington Post • Jun. 1, 2022
In short, the lack of contact tracing guarantees that Americans — collectively and individually — will both overreact and underreact to the virus, because we don't have the information we need to react appropriately.
From Salon • Jun. 23, 2020
But I noticed that I underreact in a similar way, in a lot of situations.
From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2016
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.