Word family noun reaction reactor reactionary overreaction adjective reactionary reactive verb react overreact
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishreactivere‧ac‧tive /riˈæktɪv/ AWL adjective 1 REACTreacting to events or situations rather than starting or doing new things yourself a reactive foreign policy2 technicalHC a reactive substance changes when it is mixed with another substance a highly reactive chemicalExamples from the Corpus
reactive• They see themselves as having both reactive and proactive roles.• The reactive approach is virtually always ultimately more costly than the preventive approach.• The strength of our process is not in reactive governance.• That is, I have been primarily a reactive person.• They are by nature reactive rather than pro-active.• We must be reactive rather than proactive, because becoming motivated and taking initiatives involves gaining power.• Many businesses follow a reactive strategy rather than initiating new products.From Longman Business Dictionaryreactivere‧ac‧tive /riˈæktɪv/ adjective not being ready for changes that affect you, and having to do something unplanned when they happen → compare proactive 