MEANING
To act against or reduce the effect of something.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- counteract an influence
- counteract a tendency
On the page
The apology did little to counteract the suspicion.
She changed the lighting to counteract the image’s flatness.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- counteract
- Past tense
- counteracted
- Past participle
- counteracted
- Present participle
- counteracting
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- counteract
- Present continuous
- am/is/are counteracting
- Present perfect
- have/has counteracted
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been counteracting
- Past
- counteracted
- Past continuous
- was/were counteracting
- Past perfect
- had counteracted
- Past perfect continuous
- had been counteracting
- Future
- will counteract
- Future continuous
- will be counteracting
- Future perfect
- will have counteracted
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been counteracting
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: counteract; counteracts; counteracted; counteracted; counteracting Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: counteracts.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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