Adjacent Words

Counteract definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COUNTERACT, v.t. [counter and act.] To act in opposition to; to hinder, defeat or frustrate by contrary agency. Good precepts will sometimes counteract the effects of evil example; but more generally good precepts are counteracted by bad examples.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: act in opposition to [syn: antagonize, antagonise, counteract]
2: oppose or check by a counteraction [syn: countercheck, counteract]
3: oppose and mitigate the effects of by contrary actions; "This will counteract the foolish actions of my colleagues" [syn: counteract, countervail, neutralize, counterbalance]
4: destroy property or hinder normal operations; "The Resistance sabotaged railroad operations during the war" [syn: sabotage, undermine, countermine, counteract, subvert, weaken]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Date: 1655 to make ineffective or restrain or neutralize the usually ill effects of by means of an opposite force, action, or influence <a drug used to counteract fatigue> • counteraction noun • counteractive adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 hinder or oppose by contrary action. 2 neutralize. Derivatives: counteraction n. counteractive adj.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Counteract Coun`ter*act" (koun`t?r-?kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Counteracted; p. pr. & vb. n. Counteracting.] To act in opposition to; to hinder, defeat, or frustrate, by contrary agency or influence; as, to counteract the effect of medicines; to counteract good advice.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(counteracts, counteracting, counteracted) To counteract something means to reduce its effect by doing something that produces an opposite effect. My husband has to take several pills to counteract high blood pressure... VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Oppose, contravene, resist, cross, thwart, hinder, check, defeat, frustrate, traverse, run counter to, act against, clash with. 2. Neutralize, destroy the effect of, annul.

Moby Thesaurus

annul, antagonize, baffle, balance, balk, be antipathetic, be at cross-purposes, be inimical, be opposed to, beat against, blast, brave, bump heads, cancel, cancel out, challenge, checkmate, circumvent, clash, collide, conflict, conflict with, confound, confront, confute, contend, contradict, contrapose, contraposit, contrast, contrast with, contravene, controvert, correct, counter, counterattack, counterbalance, countercheck, countermand, counterpoise, counterpose, countervail, counterweigh, counterwork, cross, dash, defeat, defy, destroy, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, dish, disrupt, elude, equiponderate, face, fix, flummox, foil, front, frustrate, go against, go counter to, interfere with, join the opposition, juxtapose in opposition, knock the chocks, lie opposite, lock horns, match, meet head-on, militate against, mitigate, negate, negative, neutralize, nonplus, not abide, nullify, offset, oppose, oppugn, perplex, play at cross-purposes, polarize, pose against, protest, put in opposition, rectify, redress, resist, right, ruin, run against, run counter to, sabotage, scotch, set off, set over against, spike, spoil, square, square up, stand opposed, stand opposite, stonewall, stump, subtend, swim upstream, take issue with, thwart, traverse, upset, vote against, withstand, work against