counterreaction

noun

coun·​ter·​re·​ac·​tion ˌkau̇n-tər-rē-ˈak-shən How to pronounce counterreaction (audio)
variants or counter-reaction
plural counterreactions or counter-reactions
: a reaction in response or opposition to the main reaction
This situation … is inherently unstable and was bound to produce a counterreaction.David Brooks
… tax cuts could only stimulate so much growth. At worst, they could trigger too severe a counterreaction by the Fed, which might throw the economy into recession.The New Republic
a literary counter-reaction to modernism

Examples of counterreaction in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Wouldn’t that mean that the modern system of VCs funding startups—and ultimately, companies like Apple and Google— was based on a counterreaction to the white-supremecist ethos that Harris finds tucked away in every corner of his hometown? Steven Levy, WIRED, 3 Mar. 2023 That may contribute to a cycle of reaction and counterreaction that could deteriorate into outright conflict. Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2022 The most extreme step -- one that is still being debated -- would be to cut Russia off from the global financial settlement system, called SWIFT, but some European officials have feared that step might provoke too harsh a counterreaction. Arkansas Online, 8 Dec. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of counterreaction was in 1848

Dictionary Entries Near counterreaction

Cite this Entry

“Counterreaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterreaction. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

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