react
verb
re·act
| \ rē-ˈakt
\
\
reacted;
reacting;
reacts
Definition of react
1
: to exert a reciprocal or counteracting force or influence
—often used with on or upon
2
: to change in response to a stimulus
3
: to act in opposition to a force or influence
—usually used with against
4
: to move or tend in a reverse direction
5
: to undergo chemical reaction
: to cause to react
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Examples of react in a Sentence
When I told her what happened, she reacted with anger.
I didn't expect him to react that way.
The firefighters reacted quickly when they heard the alarm.
He reacted badly to the drug.
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Recent Examples on the Web
At times, when Google seemed to be reacting to the small army of progressive activists who were garnering enormous news attention over the past three years, the company was actually parrying Cernekee. — Wired, "How President Trump Scooped Me on a Google Story," 14 Aug. 2019 If talks with North Korea on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula go nowhere and it is allowed to keep its current stockpile of 10-20 weapons for the indefinite future, how will Japan and South Korea react? — Ian Johnstone, The Conversation, "What is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? Here’s why it’s still important," 15 July 2019 Seeing them react and understand new food is amazing. — Kristin Braswell, Bon Appétit, "Singer Kelis on Selling Hot Sauce and Starting a Sustainable Farm in Colombia," 2 July 2019 When the news of the sale initially broke, Ari did react, posting a congratulations to her manager on Instagram. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "This Might Be the Reason Why Ariana Grande Hasn’t Spoken Out About the Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun Drama," 1 July 2019 Our bodies all react differently to various foods, dietary cholesterol among them. — Christine Byrne, Outside Online, "Are Eggs Bad for You? The Verdict Is Still Out.," 15 June 2019 Multiple celebrities, including LeAnn Rimes, Carly Pearce, Danielle Bradbery, and her own husband, Ryan Hurd, reacted with total positivity (and lots of fire emojis). — Megan Stein, Country Living, "Maren Morris Speaks Out After Fans 'Shame' Her for Racy Photoshoot," 12 June 2019 Nonetheless investors could react badly if Mr Powell fails to meet their expectations, warns Neil Shearing of Capital Economics, a consultancy. — The Economist, "The Fed cuts rates for the first time in over a decade," 1 Aug. 2019 But even as fans were reacting to Stroman’s arrival on Twitter, reports surfaced that the Mets are still envisioning a Syndergaard trade, which would be a decidedly backward move in the face of Sunday’s big deal. — Jon Tayler, SI.com, "The Mets Would Be Foolish to Trade Noah Syndergaard," 28 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'react.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for react
react
verb
English Language Learners Definition of react
: to behave or change in a particular way when something happens, is said, etc.
of a chemical substance
: to change after coming into contact with another substance
medical
: to be affected by a drug, food, etc., in usually a bad way
See the full definition for react in the English Language Learners Dictionary
react
verb
re·act
| \ rē-ˈakt
\
\
reacted;
reacting
Kids Definition of react
1
: to act or behave in response to something
Firefighters reacted quickly to the situation.
2
: to oppose a force or influence
Hint:
In this sense, react is usually used with against. Workers reacted against unfair treatment.
3
: to go through a chemical reaction
Acids react with bases to form salt.
react
intransitive verb
re·act
| \ rē-ˈakt
\
\
Medical Definition of react
1
: to respond to a stimulus
2
: to undergo chemical reaction
: to cause to react
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