1
as in extreme
being very far from the center of public opinion
the baggy trousers that Amelia Bloomer introduced in the 1850s were considered a radical form of dress for women at the time
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in liberal
not bound by traditional ways or beliefs
radical proponents of spelling reform would have every word spelled "just the way it sounds"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wonderful
slang
of the very best kind
surfing conditions at virtually all of the beaches along the coast were truly radical
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in revolutionary
a person who favors rapid and sweeping changes especially in laws and methods of government
radicals staged large, violent protests in the hopes of toppling the government
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of radical
Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 22 Feb. 2025
In the 1950s, the FBI under Director J. Edgar Hoover created the counter-intelligence programs COINTELPRO, allegedly for investigating communists and radical political groups, and the Ghetto Informant Program.
—Brittany Friedman, The Conversation, 21 Feb. 2025
Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
Tom Homan said this week that the incoming administration needs to pay close attention to potential radicals and extremists in various agencies, including the U.S. military, following the two attacks in Las Vegas and New Orleans.
—Filip Timotija, The Hill, 4 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for radical
Adjective
On Friday, veteran sports journalist Gethin Coolbaugh came up with a somewhat radical solution, in a column for Boston Sports Journal.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 22 Feb. 2025
In the 1950s, the FBI under Director J. Edgar Hoover created the counter-intelligence programs COINTELPRO, allegedly for investigating communists and radical political groups, and the Ghetto Informant Program.
—Brittany Friedman, The Conversation, 21 Feb. 2025
Noun
But amid Trump’s return, the radicals have their eyes on bigger prizes, such as the annexation of the West Bank—which the Palestinians claim for their future state—and are loath to forgo such opportunities.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
Tom Homan said this week that the incoming administration needs to pay close attention to potential radicals and extremists in various agencies, including the U.S. military, following the two attacks in Las Vegas and New Orleans.
—Filip Timotija, The Hill, 4 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for radical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for radical
Adjective
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In participating in those extreme acts, Saha said, people fall victim to a group psychology that both permits and encourages more extreme behavior.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA TODAY,
17 Feb. 2025
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Both California and Florida, which have always been disaster-prone states, have seen an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events over the past few years.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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There is now a four-to-three liberal majority on the court, but Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, a liberal who has sat on the court since 1995, is retiring, putting the court’s majority on the ballot.—
Theodore Schleifer,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
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In doing so, AI can become a formidable assistant for statecraft: not just echoing an outdated Western-centric consensus on cooperation and liberal norms, but adaptively evolving to meet the complex, fluid challenges shaping tomorrow's global order.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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One pole of the action is the Green Dolphin Hotel, where Hezekiah and Alec finally find a place to land, and where Hezekiah’s ability to speak Chinese, a legacy from a Chinese grandmother, endears him to the proprietor, Mr. Lao (Jason Tobin, quiet and wonderful); some Elephants are around as well.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2025
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Parker Hall The Best MagSafe Accessories for Your New iPhone The weird, wonderful world of MagSafe accessories can make your smartphone feel modular.—
Julian Chokkattu,
WIRED,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Massoud also pauses at a monument to Louis Riel, a 19th-century Canadian revolutionary of Franco-Chipewyan Métis descent, who was executed in 1885 for leading an Indigenous rebellion for civil rights.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Feb. 2025
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The connection between Nafisi and Bahri is presented with complexity and without sentimentality, neither papering over political differences nor caricaturing Bahri as a generic revolutionary.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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This is a very famous spinoff of a very famous show that has a rabid fanbase.—
H. Alan Scott,
Newsweek,
19 Feb. 2025
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Two persons, however, were exposed to the rabid bull and had to be given rabies vaccine.—
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,
arkansasonline.com,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Setting up your trusts in states that are leaders in modifying trust laws in progressive ways to address tax law and other changes from the inception of the trust can prove advantageous for the reasons illustrated in the preceding paragraph.—
Martin Shenkman,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
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And there’s something deceptively progressive in those stories.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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There’s such a great playfulness and a balance between the two of them.—
Vlada Gelman,
TVLine,
25 Feb. 2025
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The market is ‘flooded’ with great series: independent distributors, studios, producers and even streamers are offering acquisition or pre-buy opportunities of great quality.—
Annika Pham,
Variety,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Two of this year’s contenders hope to chart an unconventional path.—
Kyle Buchanan,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2025
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While some praised his unconventional love life, many were far from impressed.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
11 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Radical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/radical. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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