Reactionary

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹɪˈækʃənəɹi/
• Hyphenation: re + ac + tion + ary

Origin

From French réactionnaire. Used in the time of the French revolution to refer to a person opposing the revolution; as in a person favoring a reaction to the revolution. First known usage in English in a translation of 's letter on the published in London, 1799.

Full definition of reactionary

Adjective

1. Opposed to change; urging a return to a previous state.
2. Very conservative.
3. (chemistry) Of, pertaining to, participating in or inducing a chemical reaction.
• 2013, Brandon Smith, Are Individuals The Property Of The Collective?Psychiatry extends the theory into biology in the belief that all human behavior is nothing more than a series of reactionary chemical processes in the brain that determine pre-coded genetic responses built up from the conditioning of one’s environment.

Antonyms

• nonreactionary

Noun

1. One who is opposed to change.
2. One who is very conservative.