rad|i|cal

rad|i|cal: rad|i|cal «RAD uh kuhl», adjective, noun.

–adj.

1. going to the root; fundamental; basic: »If she wants to grow thin, she must make radical changes in her diet. Radical departures from custom and tradition in dress were introduced in the 1960's.

2. favoring extreme changes or reforms; extreme: »A global ideology…has the power to capture radical revolutionary minds (Newsweek). I never dared be radical when young For fear it would make me conservative when old (Robert Frost).

3. having to do with or forming the root of a number or quantity.

4. of or from the root or roots: »Since book is a simple word consisting of one morpheme, it may be said to contain one and only one root or radical element (Simeon Potter).
SYNONYM(S): original, primary.

5. Botany. arising from the root or the base of the stem; basal.

╂[< Late Latin rādīcālis < Latin rādīx, -īcis root]

–n.

1. a person who favors extreme changes or reforms, especially in politics; person with extreme opinions: »It was clear that he had awakened deep currents of resentment, and of hope, among young radicals in France (Newsweek). A radical is a man with both feet firmly planted in the air (Franklin D. Roosevelt).

2. an atom or group of atoms acting as a unit in chemical reactions. Ammonium (―NH₄) is a radical in NH₄OH and NH₄Cl, becoming part of those compounds without undergoing change, as if it were a single element instead of two or more. »Such radicals may be produced by the high-temperature decomposition of hydrocarbons such as methane, CH₄, which forms the methyl radical, CH₃ (M. P. Barnett).

3. Mathematics. a) an expression indicating the root of a quantity. Examples: √5, √x― 3 b) the mathematical sign put before an expression to show that some root of it is to be extracted; radical sign.

4. any one of a number of Chinese written characters common to many written words: »Chinese characters are classified in a dictionary under 214 radicals, or meaning indicators (Shau Wing Chan).

5. Linguistics, Grammar. a word or a part of a word serving as a root on which other words are formed. Love is the radical of lovely, loveliness, and loving.

6. anything fundamental or basic.

╂[ adjective; (def. 1) < French radical < Middle French, adjective, learned borrowing from Late Latin rādīcālis; see the adjective]

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rad|i|cal|ly — «RAD uh klee», adverb. 1. by root or origin; primitively; originally; naturally: »The language, which is called the Manx, is radically Erse, or Irish (Jedidiah Morse). 2. in a radical manner; at the origin or root; fundamentally; essentially: »a… … Useful english dictionary
rad|i|cal|ism — «RAD uh kuh LIHZ uhm», noun. 1. the principles or practices of radicals; support or advocacy of extreme changes or reforms, especially in politics. 2. the state or condition of being radical … Useful english dictionary
rad|i|cal|i|za|tion — «RAD uh kuh luh ZAY shuhn», noun. 1. the process of making radical. 2. the process of becoming radical … Useful english dictionary
rad|i|cal|ize — «RAD uh kuh lyz», verb, ized, iz|ing. –v.t. to make radical: »to radicalize a political system, to radicalize a student body. –v.i. to become radical: »When it [the Reform Bill] and the Catholic question were both carried…Herbert Grimstone… … Useful english dictionary
rad|i|cal|ness — «RAD uh kuhl nihs», noun. the condition of being radical … Useful english dictionary
de|rad´i|cal|i|za´tion — de|ra|di|cal|ize «dee RAD uh kuh lyz», transitive verb, ized, iz|ing. to cause to abandon or retreat from radicalism: »Today Obst s cigars are longer than his hair, and he admits that hobnobbing with publishing fat cats has tended to deradicalize … Useful english dictionary
spo|rad´i|cal|ly — spo|rad|ic «spuh RAD ihk», adjective. 1. appearing now and then or at intervals in time; occasional: »sporadic outbreaks. 2. being or occurring apart from others; isolated: »The sporadic meteors, which appear to be independent travelers, seem to… … Useful english dictionary
ul|tra|rad|i|cal — «UHL truh RAD uh kuhl», adjective, noun. –adj. excessively radical, especially in politics. –n. a person who is extremely radical … Useful english dictionary
rad·i·cal·ism — /ˈrædıkəˌlızəm/ noun [noncount] : the opinions and behavior of people who favor extreme changes especially in government : radical political ideas and behavior political radicalism … Useful english dictionary
rad·i·cal·ise — ↑radicalize … Useful english dictionary

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rad|i|cal

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