radical
/ˈɹadɪkəl/ adjective, noun
Forms radicals
- adjective (botany, not comparable) Of or pertaining to the root of a plant.
- adjective (lexicography, not comparable) Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
- adjective (phonology, phonetics, not comparable, of a sound) Produced using the root of the tongue.
- adjective (mathematics) Relating to a radix or mathematical root. “a radical quantity; a radical sign”
- adjective Pertaining to the basic or intrinsic nature of something.
- adjective Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter. “His beliefs are radical.”
- adjective Thoroughgoing; far-reaching. “The spread of the cancer required radical surgery, and the entire organ was removed.”
- adjective (chemistry, not comparable) Involving free radicals.
- noun (arithmetic) A root (of a number or quantity).
- noun (linguistics) 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.
- noun (proscribed, common) Any component of a logographic character, whether used for indexing or not, whether semantic or not.
- noun (linguistics) In Celtic languages, the basic, underlying form of an initial consonant which can be further mutated under the Celtic initial consonant mutations.
- noun (linguistics) In Semitic languages, any one of the set of consonants (typically three) that make up a root.
- noun (chemistry) A group of atoms, joined by covalent bonds, that take part in reactions as a single unit.
- noun (organic chemistry) A free radical.
- noun (algebra, commutative algebra, ring theory, of an ideal) 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.
Synonyms
fundamental primitive rad Jacobin Jacobinic Jacobinical semantophore component group chemical group free radical root root word base stem theme extremist ultra revolutionary basal
Antonyms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English radical, from Latin rādīcālis (“of or pertaining to the root, having roots, radical”). Compare grassroots.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the root.
- adjective Hence: Of or pertaining to the root or origin; reaching to the center, to the foundation to the ultimate sources to the principles, or the like: original; fundamental; thorough-going; unsparing; extreme; as, radical evils; radical reform; a radical party.
- noun (a) A primitive word; a radix, root, or simple, underived, uncompounded word; an etymon.
- noun One who advocates radical changes in government or social institutions, especially such changes as are intended to level class inequalities; --opposed to conservative.
Etymology [F., fr. L. radicalis having roots, fr. radix, - icis, a root. See Radix.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “radical”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details