as in conservative
tending to favor established ideas, conditions, or institutions
reactionary guardians of proper English usage invariably regard every new coinage that comes along as a nonword
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in rightist
a person whose political beliefs are centered on tradition and keeping things the way they are
reactionaries tried to stop the passage of the legislation extending civil rights
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fogey
a person with old-fashioned ideas
a reactionary in the nation's ongoing culture war, she seems to believe that watching any TV at all will rot your brain
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of reactionary
K. Lloyd Billingsley, Orange County Register, 11 Nov. 2024
And so The Diplomat sets the stage for Wyler to be schooled, over and over, by Penn and her reactionary doctrine through the end of the season, a dynamic that with each scene reveals how little the series has done to make Wyler a lucid character of her own.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
Stokes was reactionary whereas McCullum was more reflective.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
The Reaganite values that most endure are the reactionary ones: his hostility toward civil rights, feminism, and the welfare state.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for reactionary 
Adjective
Proposition 13 made California a national leader but a reactionary ruling class now bars the people from curtailing tax and fee hikes.
—K. Lloyd Billingsley, Orange County Register, 11 Nov. 2024
And so The Diplomat sets the stage for Wyler to be schooled, over and over, by Penn and her reactionary doctrine through the end of the season, a dynamic that with each scene reveals how little the series has done to make Wyler a lucid character of her own.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
Stokes was reactionary whereas McCullum was more reflective.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
The Reaganite values that most endure are the reactionary ones: his hostility toward civil rights, feminism, and the welfare state.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for reactionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reactionary
Adjective
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Good led the conservative House Freedom Caucus but narrowly lost his primary during the summer to Virginia State Senator John McGuire, who was endorsed by President-elect .Sonam Sheth, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024
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Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, is working to pressure GOP senators from nine states to support President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks.Lauren Irwin, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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OpenAI was created as a non-profit research lab with a for-profit arm, but has mulled restructuring into a more traditional, for-profit company that could lead to more returns for investors — a plan at which Musk has also taken aim.Clare Duffy, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024
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This compares to the more traditional form of pardons, which are issued during legal proceedings, or after a conviction.Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 8 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The independent retailer, which was started a decade ago by men’s marketing veteran Paul C. Witt, has two new locations — one of which marks its debut foray into womenswear — and a private label on the way.Marissa Muller, WWD, 16 Dec. 2024
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The Denver Broncos’ veteran wide receiver, about an hour after his team moved to the doorstep of the playoffs with a 31-13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, was asked to imagine the game’s defining play in an alternate universe.Nick Kosmider, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Funnels and Pinch Points Funnels and pinch-points are among the most orthodox stand locations during the rut.Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024
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Harris emphasized distributional conflict at a time when few orthodox economists were doing so.John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near reactionary
Cite this Entry
“Reactionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reactionary. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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