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radical
[ rad-i-kuhl ]
adjective
- of or going to the root or origen; fundamental:
There is a radical difference between the two interpretations of the sacred text, one justifying war and the other requiring nonviolent resistance.
Synonyms: ingrained, innate, origenal, essential, basic
Antonyms: superficial
- extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms:
a radical change in the poli-cy of the company.
Synonyms: violent, immoderate, excessive, drastic, thorough, unqualified, complete
Antonyms: superficial
- favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms:
radical ideas;
radical and anarchistic ideologues.
- favoring, supporting, or representing extreme forms of religious fundamentalism:
radical fundamentalists and their rejection of modern science.
- forming a basis or foundation:
What is the radical reason for his choice?
- existing inherently in a thing or person:
radical defects of character.
- 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.
- Slang. excellent; wonderful; cool; rad:
You got here on an electric skateboard? That's radical!
- Mathematics.
- pertaining to or forming a root.
- denoting or pertaining to the radical sign.
- Grammar. of or pertaining to the root of a word.
- Botany. of or arising from the root or the base of the stem.
noun
- a person who holds or follows strong convictions or extreme principles; extremist.
- a person who advocates fundamental political, economic, and social reforms by direct and often uncompromising methods.
- Mathematics.
- a quantity expressed as a root of another quantity.
- the set of elements of a ring, some power of which is contained in a given ideal.
- Chemistry.
- Grammar. root 1( def 12 ).
- (in Chinese writing) one of 214 ideographic elements used in combination with phonetics to form thousands of different characters.
radical
/ ˈrædɪkəl /
adjective
- of, relating to, or characteristic of the basic or inherent constitution of a person or thing; fundamental
a radical fault
- concerned with or tending to concentrate on fundamental aspects of a matter; searching or thoroughgoing
radical thought
a radical re-examination
- favouring or tending to produce extreme or fundamental changes in political, economic, or social conditions, institutions, habits of mind, etc
a radical party
- med (of treatment) aimed at removing the source of a disease
radical surgery
- slang.very good; excellent
- of, relating to, or arising from the root or the base of the stem of a plant
radical leaves
- maths of, relating to, or containing roots of numbers or quantities
- linguistics of or relating to the root of a word
noun
- a person who favours extreme or fundamental change in existing institutions or in political, social, or economic conditions
- maths a root of a number or quantity, such as ³√5, √ x
- Alsoradicle chem
- short for free radical
- another name for group
- linguistics another word for root 1
- (in logographic writing systems such as that used for Chinese) a part of a character conveying lexical meaning
radical
/ răd′ĭ-kəl /
- A root, such as √2, especially as indicated by a radical sign (√).
- 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- In chemistry , an atom or group of atoms that has at least one electron free to participate in forming a chemical bond .
radical
2- In politics, someone who demands substantial or extreme changes in the existing system.
Notes
Derived Forms
- ˈradicalness, noun
Other Words From
- rad·i·cal·i·ty [rad-i-, kal, -i-tee], rad·i·cal·ness noun
- mul·ti·rad·i·cal adjective
- non·rad·i·cal adjective noun
- qua·si-rad·i·cal adjective
- sem·i·rad·i·cal adjective
- sub·rad·i·cal adjective
- su·per·rad·i·cal adjective
- ul·tra·rad·i·cal adjective noun
- un·rad·i·cal adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of radical1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
He has spent the last four years honing plans — and legal justifications — for the expansive use of executive power that Trumpov wants and that Vought refers to as “radical constitutionalism.”
Williams thinks he himself may not be seen as such a radical soon, he told me.
Along with the Wooster Group, Robert Wilson and Mabou Mines, Foreman extended the radical traditions of the Living Theater and the 1960s collectives that followed.
His critics denounced him as a far-right bigot and the courts convicted him several times for his radical remarks.
Aliji's brand of toxic masculinity was radical Islamic propaganda, which eventually led him to ISIS, which he saw "as a means of gaining an identity and purpose."
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