English Explanatory Dictionary

radical

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.
  2. Pertaining to a root (of a plant).
  3. Pertaining to the basic or intrinsic nature of something.
  4. Thoroughgoing; far-reaching.
  5. Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
  6. Produced using the root of the tongue.
  7. Involving free radicals.
  8. Relating to a radix or mathematical root.
  9. Excellent; awesome.
noun
  1. A member of the most progressive wing of the Liberal Party; someone favouring social reform (but generally stopping short of socialism).
  2. A member of an influential, centrist political party favouring moderate social reform, a republican constitution, and secular politics.
  3. A person with radical opinions.
  4. A root (of a number or quantity).
  5. In logographic writing systems such as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a character used to index it. Often, but not always, this is also the portion indicating meaning; compare the following sense.
  6. In logographic writing systems such as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a character (if any) that provides an indication of its meaning, as opposed to being wholly phonetic.
  7. Any component of a logographic character, whether used for indexing or not, whether semantic or not.
  8. In Celtic languages, the basic, underlying form of an initial consonant which can be further mutated under the Celtic initial consonant mutations.
  9. In Semitic languages, any one of the set of consonants (typically three) that make up a root.
  10. A group of atoms, joined by covalent bonds, that take part in reactions as a single unit.
  11. A free radical.
  12. Given an ideal I in a commutative ring R, another ideal, denoted Rad(I) or √, such that an element x ∈ R is in Rad(I) if, for some positive integer n, xⁿ ∈ I; equivalently, the intersection of all prime ideals containing I.

Pronunciation

/ˈɹædɪkəl/ /ˈɹadɪkəl/ En-au-radical.ogg

Word forms

radical more radical most radical radicals

Etymology

PIE word *wréh₂ds Inherited from Middle English radical, from Latin rādīcālis (“of or pertaining to the root, having roots, radical”). Compare grassroots.

Synonyms

Jacobin Jacobinic Jacobinical fundamental primitive rad semantophore component

Antonyms

derivative derived ignorable trivial

Related words

radix root nilradical

Derived words

antiradical biradical counterradical nonradical tetraradical ultraradical deradical dudical equiradical extraradical hyperradical intraradical multiradical postradical radical anion radical axis radical cation radical center radical centrism radical centrist radical chic radical empiricism radical empiricist radical feminism radical feminist radical hysterectomy radical ion radicalise radicalish radical Islam radicalism radicalistic radicality radicalization radicalize radical line radically radical mastectomy radicalness radical plane radical pluralism radical prostatectomy radical reform radical right radical vinegar radicool semiradical unradical aminoxyl radical aminyl radical Artinian radical Baer radical Bring radical Brown–McCoy radical coradical diradical free radical heteroradical Jacobson radical Kangxi radical

Translations

Arabic: جَذْريّ Armenian: արմատական Bulgarian: коренен Catalan: radical Chinese Mandarin: 根的 Chinese Mandarin: 根部的 Finnish: juuri- French: radical Italian: radicale Romanian: de rădăcină Romanian: rădăcinal Russian: корнево́й
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