reagem

Reagem is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Portuguese verb reagir. It expresses that the subjects are currently reacting to a stimulus, situation, or event. The base verb reagir means to respond or act in response to something. In standard Portuguese, the present tense forms include: eu reajo, tu reages, ele reage, nós reagimos, vós reagis, eles reagem. In Brazilian Portuguese, this form is also used with the pronoun vocês: Vocês reagem bem aos estímulos.

Etymology and sense: reagir comes from Latin reagere, formed with the prefix re- (back, again) and agere (to act). The sense broadened from returning an action to responding or behaving in reply to a given cause, whether in physical, psychological, or chemical contexts.

Usage and scope: Reagem is widely used across registers, from everyday speech to scientific writing. It can describe biological responses, such as cells that reagem to a drug, or social reactions, such as a group that reagem to news. The expression is also common in journalism and analysis to denote how people or systems respond to events.

See also: reagir, reação, reação química. Note that reagens is a different word in Portuguese meaning “reagent” in chemistry, while reagem remains a verb form that conveys response rather than a noun.