Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

radical

[ rad-i-kuhl ]

adjective

  1. of or going to the root or origin; fundamental:

    There is a radical difference between the two interpretations of the sacred text, one justifying war and the other requiring nonviolent resistance.

    Synonyms: , , , ,

    Antonyms:

  2. extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms:

    a radical change in the policy of the company.

    Synonyms: , , , , , ,

    Antonyms:

  3. favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms:

    radical ideas;

    radical and anarchistic ideologues.

  4. favoring, supporting, or representing extreme forms of religious fundamentalism:

    radical fundamentalists and their rejection of modern science.

  5. forming a basis or foundation:

    is the radical reason for his choice?

  6. existing inherently in a thing or person:

    radical defects of character.

  7. characterized by a marked departure from prevailing methods, practices, or ideas, particularly in the arts; experimental; unorthodox:

    The composer’s radical approach to sound, using timbre and rhythm rather than pitch, was declared “noise” by an influential critic.

  8. Slang. excellent; wonderful; cool; rad:

    You got here on an electric skateboard? That's radical!

  9. Mathematics.
    1. pertaining to or forming a root.
    2. denoting or pertaining to the radical sign.
  10. Grammar. of or pertaining to the root of a word.
  11. Botany. of or arising from the root or the base of the stem.


noun

  1. a person who holds or follows strong convictions or extreme principles; extremist.
  2. a person who advocates fundamental political, economic, and social reforms by direct and often uncompromising methods.
  3. Mathematics.
    1. a quantity expressed as a root of another quantity.
    2. the set of elements of a ring, some power of which is contained in a given ideal.
  4. Chemistry.
  5. Grammar. root 1( def 12 ).
  6. (in Chinese writing) one of 214 ideographic elements used in combination with phonetics to form thousands of different characters.

radical

/ ˈæɪə /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the basic or inherent constitution of a person or thing; fundamental

    a radical fault

  2. concerned with or tending to concentrate on fundamental aspects of a matter; searching or thoroughgoing

    radical thought

    a radical re-examination

  3. favouring or tending to produce extreme or fundamental changes in political, economic, or social conditions, institutions, habits of mind, etc

    a radical party

  4. med (of treatment) aimed at removing the source of a disease

    radical surgery

  5. slang.
    very good; excellent
  6. of, relating to, or arising from the root or the base of the stem of a plant

    radical leaves

  7. maths of, relating to, or containing roots of numbers or quantities
  8. linguistics of or relating to the root of a word
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a person who favours extreme or fundamental change in existing institutions or in political, social, or economic conditions
  2. maths a root of a number or quantity, such as ³√5, √ x
  3. Alsoradicle chem
    1. short for free radical
    2. another name for group
  4. linguistics another word for root 1
  5. (in logographic writing systems such as that used for Chinese) a part of a character conveying lexical meaning
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

radical

  1. A root, such as √2, especially as indicated by a radical sign (√).
  2. A group of atoms that behaves as a unit in chemical reactions and is often not stable except as part of a molecule. The hydroxyl, ethyl, and phenyl radicals are examples. Radicals are unchanged by chemical reactions.

radical

1
  1. In chemistry , an atom or group of atoms that has at least one electron free to participate in forming a chemical bond .

radical

2
  1. In politics, someone who demands substantial or extreme changes in the existing system.
Discover More

Notes

In general, radicals are associated with chemical reactions that proceed rapidly.
Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˈ徱Ա, noun
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • ····ٲ [rad-i-, kal, -i-tee], ···Ա noun
  • ܱ·پ··· adjective
  • ԴDz··· adjective noun
  • ܲ·-·· adjective
  • ···· adjective
  • ܲ··· adjective
  • ···· adjective
  • ܱ·ٰ··· adjective noun
  • ܲ··· adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of radical1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin ī “having roots, forming roots,” from Latin ī- (stem of “root”) + - -al 1; root 1
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of radical1

C14: from Late Latin ī having roots, from Latin a root
Discover More

Synonym Study

Radical, extreme, fanatical denote that which goes beyond moderation or even to excess in opinion, belief, action, etc. Radical emphasizes the idea of going to the root of a matter, and this often seems immoderate in its thoroughness or completeness: radical ideas; radical changes or reforms. Extreme applies to excessively biased ideas, intemperate conduct, or repressive legislation: to use extreme measures. Fanatical is applied to a person who, especially in matters of religion or morality, has extravagant views and excessive zeal, rendering that person incapable of sound judgments and prone to take violent action against those who have differing views: fanatical in persecuting others.
Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“The current administration, which has emphasized over and over again about radical transparency, should certainly be doing more to let consumers know what’s going on in these cases,” he said.

From

He has studied environmental protest groups in the UK for decades and says the more radical groups are finding it increasingly hard to recruit people.

From

This was the mission of Pope Francis, and we will proudly continue to live out this radical spirit of accompaniment which honors the sacredness of our neighbor.

From

“The same mindset which stands in the way of making radical decisions to reverse the trend of global warming also stands in the way of achieving the goal of eliminating poverty,” he wrote.

From

Skarsgård makes Luthen more rumpled and prone to rage about the grave he’s dug for himself even as he preaches that fighting fascism requires radical sacrifice.

From

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


radiatusradical axis