Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
counteract en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈkaʊntəɹˌækt/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Proto-Italic *kom-
Proto-Indo-European *-teros
Proto-Italic *-teros
Proto-Italic *komterosder.
Proto-Italic *komterād
Latin contrāder.
Old French contre-
Anglo-Norman countre-bor.
Middle English counter-
English counter-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
Proto-Italic *agō
Latin agō
Latin ācta
Old French actbor.
Middle English acte
English act
English counteract
From counter- + act.
Meanings
-
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, →ISBN: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:
Forms
counteract en · VERB
Pronunciation
- /ˌkaʊntəɹˈækt/
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈkaʊntəɹˌækt/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Proto-Italic *kom-
Proto-Indo-European *-teros
Proto-Italic *-teros
Proto-Italic *komterosder.
Proto-Italic *komterād
Latin contrāder.
Old French contre-
Anglo-Norman countre-bor.
Middle English counter-
English counter-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
Proto-Italic *agō
Latin agō
Latin ācta
Old French actbor.
Middle English acte
English act
English counteract
From counter- + act.
Meanings
-
(transitive) To have a contrary or opposing effect or force on someone or something.
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.
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 Life:
-
(transitive) To 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 342:2016, 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.
Forms
Antonyms
help · abet · reinforce · assist · sustain · support
Deriveds
counteractive · counteractingly · counteractively · counteracter · counteractor · counteraction · counteractant · recounteract · uncounteracted
Hyponyms
balance out · cancel out · detoxify · countercharm · detoxicate · countercheck · override · fight · countervote · offset · nullify · neutralise · counterspell
Synonyms
offset · countervail · counteract · counterwork · countervail · counterpoise · remedy
Translations (23)
el αντιδρώ (to act in opposition to) · eo kontraŭagi (to act in opposition to) · grc ἀντιπράσσω (to act in opposition to) · de entgegenwirken (to act in opposition to) · nl tegengaan (to act in opposition to) · ru противоде́йствовать (to act in opposition to) · nb motarbeide (to act in opposition to) · uk протиді́яти (to act in opposition to) · de bekämpfen (to act in opposition to) · el αντενεργώ (to act in opposition to) · nb motvirke (to act in opposition to) · ru противостоять (to act in opposition to) · kn ಮಾರು (to act in opposition to) · hu ellensúlyoz (to act in opposition to) · nb motvirke (to have a contrary or opposing effect on someone or something) · kn ಮಲೆ (to act in opposition to) · pl przeciwdziałać (to act in opposition to) · el αντιπράττω (to act in opposition to) · sv motverka (to act in opposition to) · bg противодействам (to act in opposition to) · es contrarrestar (to act in opposition to) · fi vastustaa (to act in opposition to) · it contrastare (to act in opposition to)