Radical

Pronunciation

• enPR: rădʹĭk-É™l, IPA: /ˈɹædɪkÉ™l/
• Homophones: radicle

Origin

From French radical, from Late Latin radicalis ("of or pertaining to the root, having roots, radical"), from Latin radix ("root"); see radix.

Full definition of radical

Adjective

1. Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.His beliefs are radical.
2. (botany, not comparable) Pertaining to a root of a plant.
3. Pertaining to the basic or intrinsic nature of something.
• BurkeThe most determined exertions of that authority, against them, only showed their radical independence.
4. Thoroughgoing.
• 2012-01, Donald Worster, A Drier and Hotter Future, Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such dust storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.
5. The spread of the cancer required radical surgery, and the entire organ was removed.
6. (linguistics, not comparable) Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
7. (linguistics, not comparable, of a sound) Produced using the root of the tongue.
8. (chemistry, not comparable) Involving free radicals.
9. (math) Relating to a radix or mathematical root.a radical quantity; a radical sign
10. (slang, 1980s) Excellent; awesome.That was a radical jump!

Derived terms

• radicalness
• radicality
• radicalize
• radically
• radical empiricism
• radical feminism
• radical left
• radical pluralism
• radical reform
• radical right
• radical Islam

Related terms

• root
• radix

Coordinate terms

• (produced with the root of the tongue) labial, coronal, dorsal, laryngeal

Noun

1. (historical: 19th-century England) A member of the most progressive wing of the Liberal Party; someone favouring social reform (but generally stopping short of socialism).
2. (historical: early 20th-century France) 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. (arithmetic) A root (of a number or quantity).
5. (linguistics: portion of a character that provides an indication of its meaning)(linguistics) In logographic writing systems as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a character (if any) that provides an indication of its meaning, as opposed to phonetic.
6. (linguistics) In Semitic languages, any one of the set of consonants (typically three) that make up a root.
7. (chemistry) A group of atoms, joined by covalent bonds, that take part in reactions as a single unit.
8. (organic chemistry) A free radical.

Derived terms

• free radical
• radical sign

Anagrams

• aldaric