Meanings
plural counteracts
- An action performed in opposition to another action.
Every time there is a march by the Ku Klux Klan or a swastika painted on a Jewish building, there could be a counteract of reconciliation within twenty-four hours.
2006, John Danforth, Faith and Politics, →ISBN1 more example
This flesh and blood of Christ's human body, as the redeeming substance, should have been eaten by man as an act of obedience to the command, 'Take, eat,' &c., as a counteract to the act of disobedience, and as a work meet for repentance.
1859, James Fletcher, A synthesis or conjoint view of the points of doctrine connected with the institution of the Lord's Supper
present singular third person counteracts · participle present counteracting · participle past counteracted · past counteracted
- transitiveTo have a contrary or opposing effect or force on someone or something.
Another tide is raised at the same time on the opposite side of the revolving earth; which is owing to the greater centrifugal motion of that side of the earth, which counteracts the gravitation of bodies near its surface.
1796, Erasmus Darwin, Zoonomia, or, the Laws of Organic Life1 more example
1911, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica - Dome In India, in the “great mosque” of Jama Masjid (a.d. 1560) and the Gol Gumbaz, or tomb of Mahommed Adil Shah (a.d. 1630) at Bijapur, the domes are carried on pendentives consisting of arches crossing one another and projecting inwards, and their weight counteracts any thrust there may be in the dome.
Synonyms: offset, counterpoise, countervail
- transitiveTo deliberately act in opposition to, to thwart or frustrate.
It took a long time for the place to warm up and to counteract the cold and enable their fingers to cope with the delicate task of moulding, the men would often surround themselves with blocks of iron heated in the furnace.
1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 3421 more example
2016, Margaret Corvid writing in the New Statesman, Five practical things you can do to fight Donald Trump if you live in the UK When people hear my American accent, they want to talk to me about Donald Trump. They want to ask me what happened, and why. But most of all, they ask me – with fear filling their voices – what they can do, as individuals, to counteract him, here, from the United Kingdom.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo have a contrary or opposing effect or force on someone or something.
More synonyms by meaning
verboppose and mitigate the effects of by contrary actions
verbdestroy property or hinder normal operations
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
- Proto-Italic*kom
- Proto-Italic*kom-
- Proto-Italic*komteros
- Proto-Italic*komterād
- Latincontrā
- Old Frenchcontre-
- Anglo-Normancountre-
- Middle Englishcounter-
- Englishcounter-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂eǵ-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂éǵeti
- Proto-Italic*agō
- Latinagō
- Latināctus
- Latinācta
- Old Frenchact
- Middle Englishacte
- Englishact
- Englishcounteract
Translations
Ancient Greek ἀντιπράσσω
- ἀντιπράσσω (antiprássō)to act in opposition to
Bulgarian противодействам
- противодействам (protivodejstvam)to act in opposition to
Dutch tegengaan
- tegengaanto act in opposition to
Esperanto kontraŭagi
- kontraŭagito act in opposition to
Finnish vastustaa
- vastustaato act in opposition to
German entgegenwirken, bekämpfen
- entgegenwirkento act in opposition to
- bekämpfento act in opposition to
Greek αντενεργώ, αντιδρώ
- αντενεργώ (antenergó)to act in opposition to
- αντιδρώ (antidró)to act in opposition to
- αντιπράττω (antiprátto)to act in opposition to
Hungarian ellensúlyoz
- ellensúlyozto act in opposition to
Italian contrastare
- contrastareto act in opposition to
Norwegian Bokmål motvirke, motvirke
- motvirketo have a contrary or opposing effect on someone or something
- motvirketo act in opposition to
- motarbeideto act in opposition to
Polish przeciwdziałać
- przeciwdziałaćto act in opposition to
Russian противоде́йствовать, противостоять
- противоде́йствовать (protivodéjstvovatʹ)to act in opposition to
- противостоять (protivostojatʹ)to act in opposition to
Spanish contrarrestar
- contrarrestarto act in opposition to
Swedish motverka
- motverkato act in opposition to
Ukrainian протиді́яти
- протиді́яти (protydíjaty)to act in opposition to
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with counteract
Cite this entry
counteract. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counteract
“counteract.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counteract. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “counteract,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counteract.
Source: counteract on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.