counteract
verb
coun·ter·act
ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈakt 
counteracted; counteracting; counteracts
: to make ineffective or restrain or neutralize the usually ill effects of by means of an opposite force, action, or influence
a drug used to counteract fatigue
Synonyms
Examples of counteract in a Sentence
The drug will counteract the poison.
this medication will counteract the symptoms but it won't kill the infection
Recent Examples on the Web
The man was given a dose of Narcan, which can counteract the effects of opioids, but was later pronounced dead, according to the agency.
—
Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024
Hope and momentum from climate techs investors is desperately needed to counteract the recent decline in investment in climate tech.
—Marianne Lehnis, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Ohtani is the type of player who transcends the sport and counteracts the downward trend in baseball’s national appeal more than anyone else.
—Harry Enten, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
His study, which was published in the journal Nature, suggests that climate change is playing a significant enough role in the Earth’s rotation to counteract an opposing trend.
—Evan Bush, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
To counteract this, people install security cameras at their homes, conduct cybersecurity audits to ensure their devices and locations are not being tracked, file police reports, receive orders of protection from harassers, or sometimes even move cities if possible.
—Ariella Steinhorn, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
In other words, the increase in productive capacity helped to counteract inflationary pressures that would arise from more people living in the U.S.
—Wendy Edelberg and Tara Watson, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
The Tennessee state House of Representatives passed a bill Monday designed to prevent geoengineering, the practice of intentionally modifying the atmosphere to counteract global warming.
—Evan Bush, NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024
The idea is to counteract some of the effects of climate change by finding ways to reflect solar radiation.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 21 Mar. 2024
Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024
Hope and momentum from climate techs investors is desperately needed to counteract the recent decline in investment in climate tech.
—Marianne Lehnis, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Ohtani is the type of player who transcends the sport and counteracts the downward trend in baseball’s national appeal more than anyone else.
—Harry Enten, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
His study, which was published in the journal Nature, suggests that climate change is playing a significant enough role in the Earth’s rotation to counteract an opposing trend.
—Evan Bush, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
To counteract this, people install security cameras at their homes, conduct cybersecurity audits to ensure their devices and locations are not being tracked, file police reports, receive orders of protection from harassers, or sometimes even move cities if possible.
—Ariella Steinhorn, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
In other words, the increase in productive capacity helped to counteract inflationary pressures that would arise from more people living in the U.S.
—Wendy Edelberg and Tara Watson, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
The Tennessee state House of Representatives passed a bill Monday designed to prevent geoengineering, the practice of intentionally modifying the atmosphere to counteract global warming.
—Evan Bush, NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024
The idea is to counteract some of the effects of climate change by finding ways to reflect solar radiation.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 21 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'counteract.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near counteract
Cite this Entry
“Counteract.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counteract. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
counteract
verb
coun·ter·act
ˌkau̇nt-ə-ˈrakt
: to lessen the force, action, or influence of : offset
a drug that counteracts a poison
Medical Definition
counteract
transitive verb
coun·ter·act
ˌkau̇nt-ə-ˈrakt
: to make ineffective or restrain or neutralize the usually ill effects of by an opposite force
vitamin K counteracts the effects of warfarin
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