Result from Foreign Dictionaries (2 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Reaction \Re*ac"tion\ (r[-e]*[a^]k"sh[u^]n), n. [Cf. F. r['e]action.] 1. Any action in resisting other action or force; counter tendency; movement in a contrary direction; reverse action. [1913 Webster] 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}. [1913 Webster] 3. (Med.) 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 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. --Sir I. Newton (3d Law of Motion). [1913 Webster] 5. (Politics) Backward tendency or movement after revolution, reform, or great progress in any direction. [1913 Webster] The new king had, at the very moment at which his fame and fortune reached the highest point, predicted the coming reaction. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster] 6. (Psycophysics) A regular or characteristic response to a stimulation of the nerves. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 7. An action by a person or people in response to an event. The reaction may be primarily mental (" a reaction of surprise") but is usually manifested by some activity. [PJC] {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. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: reaction n 1: (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" [syn: {chemical reaction}, {reaction}] 2: an idea evoked by some experience; "his reaction to the news was to start planning what to do" 3: a bodily process occurring due to the effect of some antecedent stimulus or agent; "a bad reaction to the medicine"; "his responses have slowed with age" [syn: {reaction}, {response}] 4: (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" 5: 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" 6: extreme conservatism in political or social matters; "the forces of reaction carried the election" 7: doing something in opposition to another way of doing it that you don't like; "his style of painting was a reaction against cubism"