reaction
/ɹiˈækʃən/noun
reaction is spelled R-E-A-C-T-I-O-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 54 times per million words in written English, the 1,899th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, reaction means “An action or statement in response to a stimulus or other event” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of reaction is reactions or reäctions.
How many letters and syllables are in reaction?
| Letters | 8: R-E-A-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 54 times per million words; the 1,899th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is reaction?
Reaction appears 54 times per million words in written English, the 1,899th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce reaction?
- /ɹiˈækʃən/
Reaction has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-reaction.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with reaction?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as reaction.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: creation, actioner.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of reaction
- reactions plural
- reäction rare
- reäctions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does reaction mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An action or statement in response to a stimulus or other event.
The announcement of the verdict brought a violent reaction.
- 2
A transformation in which one or more substances is converted into another by combination or decomposition.
In this reaction, the acid and base will neutralize each other, producing a salt.
- 3
Reactionary politics; a period in which reactionary thought or politics is resurgent or dominant.
- 4
Unpurposeful behavior.
- 5
An icon or emoji appended to a posted message by a user to express their feeling about it.
noun
- 1
rareRare spelling of reaction.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate reaction?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of reaction: reax, rxn.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Reaction in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense action in response to an event:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does reaction come from?
Inherited from Middle English reaccion, from Old French reaction, from Latin reāctiō, from the verb reagō, from re- (“again”) + agō (“to act”); more at re-, action; equivalent to react + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).