reaktív

Reaktív is an adjective used in several European languages to describe the property of being able to respond to stimuli or participate in a reaction. In chemistry and related sciences, a reaktív (reactive) substance readily engages in chemical processes, and the term is often contrasted with inert materials. The concept is also used in physics, biology, and engineering to indicate responsiveness to inputs, forces, or environmental changes.

The word derives from the Latin reactivus and entered European languages through French and English as reactive or réactif/réactive, with orthographic variants such as reaktív in Hungarian and similar forms in other languages. Diacritical marks indicate phonetic nuances that vary by language.

In practice, reaktív is most commonly used to label substances or systems with high reactivity, rapid response times, or dynamic behavior. In chemistry, it can refer to a substance’s tendency to participate in oxidation–reduction, substitution, or addition reactions. In biology and physics, it describes processes that quickly respond to stimuli or perturbations. In computing, the term has been adopted through translation of reactive programming concepts, for instance Hungarian “reaktív programozás,” describing data-driven, event-driven or asynchronous systems that propagate updates through streams.

See also: reactivity, reactive programming, reactive species, inert.