reaction

[re·ac·tion]

A reaction is an action taken in response to something. If you're telling your parents that you want to move out, you'll see by their reaction that they're sad about it.

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Any action in resisting other action or force; counter tendency; movement in a contrary direction; reverse action.

Noun
doing something in opposition to another way of doing it that you don''t like; "his style of painting was a reaction against cubism"

Noun
a bodily process occurring due to the effect of some foregoing stimulus or agent; "a bad reaction to the medicine"; "his responses have slowed with age"

Noun
an idea evoked by some experience; "his reaction to the news was to start planning what to do"

Noun
extreme conservatism in political or social matters; "the forces of reaction carried the election"

Noun
a response that reveals a person''s feelings or attitude; "he was pleased by the audience''s reaction to his performance"; "John feared his mother''s reaction when she saw the broken lamp"

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Noun
(mechanics) the equal and opposite force that is produced when any force is applied to a body; "every action has an equal and opposite reaction"

Noun
(chemistry) a process in which one or more substances are changed into others; "there was a chemical reaction of the lime with the ground water"


n.
Any action in resisting other action or force; counter tendency; movement in a contrary direction; reverse action.

n.
The mutual or reciprocal action of chemical agents upon each other, or the action upon such chemical agents of some form of energy, as heat, light, or electricity, resulting in a chemical change in one or more of these agents, with the production of new compounds or the manifestation of distinctive characters. See Blowpipe reaction, Flame reaction, under Blowpipe, and Flame.

n.
An action induced by vital resistance to some other action; depression or exhaustion of vital force consequent on overexertion or overstimulation; heightened activity and overaction succeeding depression or shock.

n.
The force which a body subjected to the action of a force from another body exerts upon the latter body in the opposite direction.

n.
Backward tendency or movement after revolution, reform, or great progress in any direction.


Reaction

Re*ac"tion , n. [Cf. F. r'82action.] 1. Any action in resisting other action or force; counter tendency; movement in a contrary direction; reverse action. 2. (Chem.) The mutual or reciprocal action of chemical agents upon each other, or the action upon such chemical agents of some form of energy, as heat, light, or electricity, resulting in a chemical change in one or more of these agents, with the production of new compounds or the manifestation of distinctive characters. See Blowpipe reaction, Flame reaction, under Blowpipe, and Flame. 3. (Med.) An action included by vital resistance to some other action; depression or exhaustion of vital force consequent on overexertion or overstimulation; heightened activity and overaction succeeding depression or shock. 4. (Mech.) The force which a body subjected to the action of a force from another body exerts upon the latter body in the opposite direction.
Reaction is always equal and opposite to action, that is to say, the actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal and in opposite directions.
5. (Politics) Backward tendency or movement after revolution, reform, or great progress in any direction.
The new king had, at the very moment at which his fame and fortune reached the highest point, predicted the coming reaction.
Reaction time (Physiol.), in nerve physiology, the interval between the application of a stimulus to an end organ of sense and the reaction or resulting movement; -- called also physiological time. -- Reaction wheel (Mech.), a water wheel driven by the reaction of water, usually one in which the water, entering it centrally, escapes at its periphery in a direction opposed to that of its motion by orifices at right angles, or inclined, to its radii.

Any action in resisting other action or force; counter tendency; movement in a contrary direction; reverse action.

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Usage Examples

It is a great mystery that though the human heart longs for Truth, in which alone it finds liberation and delight, the first reaction of human beings to Truth is one of hostility and fear!

A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.

All ideas come about through some sort of observation. It sparks an attitude some object or emotion causes a reaction in the other person.

I have a 6-year-old, and his thing is to turn on Radio Disney in the car, and I get such an allergic reaction to listening to that music and the context into which it falls. I'm really working on him about that.

Growing up, my father was a financial analyst for an oil company. He was just a regular dad. And when I would say, 'Hey, come see my play,' he'd say, 'Sure.' He'd see one, 'Oh, good play' - you know, very typical dad reaction.

I think an old style of addressing environmental problems is ebbing, but the rise of the so-called conservative, political movement in this country is not a trend towards the future but a reaction to this very broad shift that we are undergoing.

A growing awareness of the depth of popular attachment to the family has led some liberals to concede that family is not just a buzzword for reaction.

By action and reaction do we become strong or weak, according to the character of our thoughts and mental states. Fear is the deadly nightshade of the mind.

Horror is the natural reaction to the last 5,000 years of history.

Misspelled Form

reaction, ereaction, 4reaction, 5reaction, treaction, freaction, eeaction, 4eaction, 5eaction, teaction, feaction, reeaction, r4eaction, r5eaction, rteaction, rfeaction, rweaction, r3eaction, r4eaction, rreaction, rseaction, rdeaction, rwaction, r3action, r4action, rraction, rsaction, rdaction, rewaction, re3action, re4action, reraction, resaction, redaction, reqaction, rewaction, resaction, rezaction, reqction, rewction, resction, rezction, reaqction, reawction, reasction, reazction, reaxction, readction, reafction, reavction, rea ction, reaxtion, readtion, reaftion, reavtion, rea tion, reacxtion, reacdtion, reacftion, reacvtion, reac tion, reacrtion, reac5tion, reac6tion, reacytion, reacgtion, reacrion, reac5ion, reac6ion, reacyion, reacgion, reactrion, react5ion, react6ion, reactyion, reactgion, reactuion, react8ion, react9ion, reactoion, reactjion, reactkion, reactuon, react8on, react9on, reactoon, reactjon, reactkon, reactiuon, reacti8on, reacti9on, reactioon, reactijon, reactikon, reactiion, reacti9on, reacti0on, reactipon, reactilon, reactiin, reacti9n, reacti0n, reactipn, reactiln, reactioin, reactio9n, reactio0n, reactiopn, reactioln, reactiobn, reactiohn, reactiojn, reactiomn, reactio n, reactiob, reactioh, reactioj, reactiom, reactio , reactionb, reactionh, reactionj, reactionm, reaction .

Other Usage Examples

But when I would see the surrogate, my first instinct, my first reaction would be jealousy, because she was doing what I wanted to do.

An important aspect of the current situation is the strong social reaction against suggestions that the home language of African American children be used in the first steps of learning to read and write.

Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

I think the reaction to a World War II situation would be the same today as it was in 1942. Initially, people would question, but once patriotism got stirred up, the whole thing would gather momentum and we'd all pull together.

I've always gotten a positive reaction to doing African-American characters.

I think that Americans should gradually begin to adopt positive behavior rather than doing evil. They should not expect an immediate reaction in return for their positive measures. It will take time.

I was just then going through a healthy reaction from the orthodoxy of my youth religion had become for me not so much a possession as an obsession, which I was trying to throw off, and this iconoclastic tale of an imaginary tribe was the result.

Besides the healthcare bill being unconstitutional and a great expansion of federal government, I think if it does not respect people's individual religious views and makes groups or individuals do things that are contrary to their deeply held beliefs, there is going to be a visceral negative reaction.

A lot of what the 'Culture' is about is a reaction to all the science fiction I was reading in my very early teens.

I always trust my gut reaction it's always right.

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