as in responding
to act or behave in response (as to a stimulus or influence)
it was my first touchdown, and I didn't know how to react to the cheers of the crowd
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Recent Examples of reacting
These characters are reacting to a baseline that hasn’t been established yet, which makes their betrayals unmoored.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2025
In September, Spector appeared in a Mamdani ad channeling his robber baron character from HBO’s The Gilded Age to perform a dramatic reading of a New York Times story about how the rich in the Hamptons are reacting to the Democratic nominee.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
Barrymore’s relationship status is a common topic of discussion on her talk show, with the host often reacting to the latest dating headlines, detailing all her dates gone wrong, reuniting with exes Justin Long and Luke Wilson, and asking guests for relationship advice.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
The approach marks a shift toward anticipating cancer’s next move rather than reacting to it.
—Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 21 Oct. 2025
In general, this is done by reacting methane and hydrogen at high temperatures, 900 °C or more.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2025
But instead of reacting, try responding.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 19 Oct. 2025
After a year of living with her forever family, one rescue dog still holds onto memories of the day she was adopted by reacting to a specific item, which the owner put to the test.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
With attendance just up on 2024’s event, the story of Mipcom 2025 is how the TV industry is reacting to this traction, especially by way of its exploration of possible partnership with YouTube and the creative economy revolution.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 16 Oct. 2025
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2025
In September, Spector appeared in a Mamdani ad channeling his robber baron character from HBO’s The Gilded Age to perform a dramatic reading of a New York Times story about how the rich in the Hamptons are reacting to the Democratic nominee.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
Barrymore’s relationship status is a common topic of discussion on her talk show, with the host often reacting to the latest dating headlines, detailing all her dates gone wrong, reuniting with exes Justin Long and Luke Wilson, and asking guests for relationship advice.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
The approach marks a shift toward anticipating cancer’s next move rather than reacting to it.
—Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 21 Oct. 2025
In general, this is done by reacting methane and hydrogen at high temperatures, 900 °C or more.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2025
But instead of reacting, try responding.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 19 Oct. 2025
After a year of living with her forever family, one rescue dog still holds onto memories of the day she was adopted by reacting to a specific item, which the owner put to the test.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
With attendance just up on 2024’s event, the story of Mipcom 2025 is how the TV industry is reacting to this traction, especially by way of its exploration of possible partnership with YouTube and the creative economy revolution.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reacting
responding
Verb
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Police are responding to a shooting that left multiple people injured at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University Saturday night, during the school’s Homecoming weekend.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
26 Oct. 2025
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An upstate New York prosecutor announced that a Buffalo man has been charged with murder after fire officials found his girlfriend and a newborn dead while responding to an apartment blaze.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reacting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reacting. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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