Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
re-sign
re-sort
re-tread
re-up
reach
react
reactance
reactant
reaction
reaction center
reaction engine
reaction formation
reaction time
reactionary
reactive
reactor
read
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "reaction" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

reaction

re·ac·tion [ ree áksh'n ] (plural re·ac·tions)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. emotional response: an emotional or intellectual response that something arouses
My initial reaction was to laugh.

2. active response: a response to something that involves taking action, or an action taken in response to something
Prices jumped in reaction to rumors of a shortage.

3. opposing action: an act in opposition to somebody or something
a reaction against consumerism

4. physical response: a response to the physical effects of something such as heat, cold, or pollution

5. medicine bodily response to substance: a bodily response to a foreign substance such as an infectious agent, medication, or allergen

6. politics strong conservatism: opposition to progressive social or political change

7. physics forces acting on body: an equal but opposite force exerted by a body when a force acts upon it

8. energy nuclear process: a nuclear process resulting in a change in the structure of atomic nuclei


re·ac·tion·al adjective
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
MSN Shopping
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft