(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
When you ~ to something that has happened to you, you behave in a particular way because of it.
They ~ed violently to the news...
It’s natural to ~ with disbelief if your child is accused of bullying...
= respond
VERB: V to n, V adv/prep, also V
2.
If you ~ against someone’s way of behaving, you deliberately behave in a different way because you do not like the way they behave.
My father never saved and perhaps I ~ed against that.
= rebel
VERB: V against n
3.
If you ~ to a substance such as a drug, or to something you have touched, you are affected unpleasantly or made ill by it.
Someone allergic to milk is likely to ~ to cheese...
VERB: V to n, also V
4.
When one chemical substance ~s with another, or when two chemical substances ~, they combine chemically to form another substance.
Calcium ~s with water...
Under normal circumstances, these two gases ~ readily to produce carbon dioxide and water.
V-RECIP: V with n, pl-n V