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radical
[rad-i-kuhl]
adjective
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:extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms.
a radical change in the policy of the company.
Synonyms: , , , , , ,Antonyms: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.
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.
(in Chinese writing) one of 214 ideographic elements used in combination with phonetics to form thousands of different characters.
radical
/ ˈæɪə /
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
slangvery 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
Also: radicle.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
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
1In chemistry, an atom or group of atoms that has at least one electron free to participate in forming a chemical bond.
radical
2In politics, someone who demands substantial or extreme changes in the existing system.
Other Word Forms
- radicality noun
- radicalness noun
- multiradical adjective
- nonradical adjective
- quasi-radical adjective
- semiradical adjective
- subradical adjective
- superradical adjective
- ultraradical adjective
- unradical adjective
- ˈ徱Ա noun
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of radical1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Musk has defended DOGE’s work as “common sense” and “not draconian or radical.”
The absence of a centralised strategic command may lead to fragmentation within Hamas, or the rise of new, perhaps more radical factions.
"These are radical left lunatics that you're dealing with," he said.
But it may not be as radical a review as sometimes presented as too much is already committed by contract or by government manifesto to make really radical changes.
Trump can rail against the lunatic radical left for the scourge of illegal immigration, but the statement that “employers are ready to hire them” couldn’t be more true.
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