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underreact

American  
[uhn-der-ree-akt] / ˌʌn dər riˈækt /

verb (used without object)

  1. to react with less than the expected or appropriate emotion.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of underreact

First recorded in 1965–70; under- + react

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

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