radical

- 15 dictionary results

–adjective

of or going to the root or origin; fundamental: a radical difference.

thoroughgoing or extreme, esp. as regards change from accepted or traditional forms: a radical change in the policy of a company.

favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms: radical ideas; radical and anarchistic ideologues.

forming a basis or foundation.

existing inherently in a thing or person: radical defects of character.

Mathematics.

pertaining to or forming a root.

denoting or pertaining to the radical sign.

irrational (def. 5b).

Grammar. of or pertaining to a root.

Botany. of or arising from the root or the base of the stem.

–noun

a person who holds or follows strong convictions or extreme principles; extremist.

10.

a person who advocates fundamental political, economic, and social reforms by direct and often uncompromising methods.

11.

Mathematics.

a quantity expressed as a root of another quantity.

the set of elements of a ring, some power of which is contained in a given ideal.

radical sign.

12.

Chemistry.

group (def. 3).

free radical.

13.

Grammar. root (def. 11).

14.

(in Chinese writing) one of 214 ideographic elements used in combination with phonetics to form thousands of different characters.

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Origin:
1350–1400; ME < LL rādīcālis having roots, equiv. to L rādīc- (s. of rādīx) root¹ + -ālis -al¹

—Related forms

rad·i·cal·ness, noun

half-rad·i·cal, adjective

half-rad·i·cal·ly, adverb

mul·ti·rad·i·cal, adjective

non·rad·i·cal, adjective, noun

non·rad·i·cal·ness, noun

qua·si-rad·i·cal, adjective

qua·si-rad·i·cal·ly, adverb

sem·i·rad·i·cal, adjective

sem·i·rad·i·cal·ly, adverb

sem·i·rad·i·cal·ness, noun

sub·rad·i·cal, adjective

sub·rad·i·cal·ness, noun

su·per·rad·i·cal, adjective

su·per·rad·i·cal·ly, adverb

su·per·rad·i·cal·ness, noun

ul·tra·rad·i·cal, adjective, noun

ul·tra·rad·i·cal·ly, adverb

un·rad·i·cal, adjective

un·rad·i·cal·ly, adverb

—Synonyms
1. basic, essential; original, innate, ingrained. 2. complete, unqualified, thorough; drastic, excessive, immoderate, violent. Radical, extreme, fanatical denote that which goes beyond moderation or even to excess in opinion, belief, action, etc. Radical emphasizes the idea of going to the root of a matter, and this often seems immoderate in its thoroughness or completeness: radical ideas; radical changes or reforms. Extreme applies to excessively biased ideas, intemperate conduct, or repressive legislation: to use extreme measures. Fanatical is applied to a person who has extravagant views, esp. in matters of religion or morality, which render that person incapable of sound judgments; and excessive zeal which leads him or her to take violent action against those who have differing views: fanatical in persecuting others.

—Antonyms
1, 2. superficial.

–noun

any collection or assemblage of persons or things; cluster; aggregation: a group of protesters; a remarkable group of paintings.

a number of persons or things ranged or considered together as being related in some way.

Also called radical. Chemistry. two or more atoms specifically arranged, as the hydroxyl group, –OH.Compare free radical.

Linguistics.

(in the classification of related languages within a family) a category of a lower order than a subbranch and of a higher order than a subgroup: the Low German group of West Germanic languages.

any grouping of languages, whether it is made on the basis of geography, genetic relationship, or something else.

Geology. a division of stratified rocks comprising two or more formations.

Military.

Army. a flexible administrative and tactical unit consisting of two or more battalions and a headquarters.

Air Force. an administrative and operational unit subordinate to a wing, usually composed of two or more squadrons.

Music. a section of an orchestra comprising the instruments of the same class.

Art. a number of figures or objects shown in an arrangement together.

Mathematics. an algebraic system that is closed under an associative operation, as multiplication or addition, and in which there is an identity element that, on operating on another element, leaves the second element unchanged, and in which each element has corresponding to it a unique element that, on operating on the first, results in the identity element.

10.

Grammar (chiefly British

). a phrase: nominal group; verbal group.

–verb (used with object)

11.

to place or associate together in a group, as with others.

12.

to arrange in or form into a group or groups.

–verb (used without object)

13.

to form a group.

14.

to be part of a group.

Origin:
1665–75; < F groupe < It gruppo ≪ Gmc

—Related forms

groupwise, adverb

su·per·group, noun

un·grouped, adjective

—Synonyms
12. order, organize, classify, combine.

—Usage note
1, 2. See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Link To radical

World English Dictionary

radical (ˈrædɪk^əl)

—*adj*
1.	of, relating to, or characteristic of the basic or inherent constitution of a person or thing; fundamental: a radical fault
2.	concerned with or tending to concentrate on fundamental aspects of a matter; searching or thoroughgoing: radical thought; a radical re-examination
3.	favouring or tending to produce extreme or fundamental changes in political, economic, or social conditions, institutions, habits of mind, etc: a radical party
4.	med (of treatment) aimed at removing the source of a disease: radical surgery
5.	slang chiefly (US) very good; excellent
6.	of, relating to, or arising from the root or the base of the stem of a plant: radical leaves
7.	maths of, relating to, or containing roots of numbers or quantities
8.	linguistics of or relating to the root of a word

—n
9.	a person who favours extreme or fundamental change in existing institutions or in political, social, or economic conditions
10.	maths a root of a number or quantity, such as ³√5, √x
11.	chem Also: radicle
	a. short for free radical
	b. another name for group
12.	linguistics another word for root
13.	(in logographic writing systems such as that used for Chinese) a part of a character conveying lexical meaning

[C14: from Late Latin rādīcālis having roots, from Latin rādix a root]

'radicalness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

radical

late 14c. (adj.), in a medieval philosophical sense, from L.L. radicalis "of or having roots," from L. radix (gen. radicis) "root" (see radish). Meaning "going to the origin, essential" is from 1650s. Political sense of "reformist" (via notion of "change from the roots") is first recorded 1802 (n.), 1820 (adj.), of the extreme section of the British Liberal party (radical reform had been a current phrase since 1786); meaning "unconventional" is from 1921. U.S. youth slang use is from 1983, from 1970s surfer slang meaning "at the limits of control." Radical chic is attested from 1970.

group

1695, originally an art criticism term, "assemblage of figures or objects in a painting or design," from Fr. groupe "cluster, group," from It. gruppo "group, knot," likely ult. from P.Gmc. *kruppaz "round mass, lump." Extended to "any assemblage" by 1736. The verb is from 1718. Meaning "pop music combo" is from 1958; hence groupie "girl who follows pop groups," first attested 1967.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

group definition

Pronunciation: /ˈgr{uuml}p/
Function: n
, often attrib 1 : a number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationship
2 a : an assemblage of related organisms —often used to avoid taxonomic connotations when the kind or degree of relationship is not clearly defined
b (1) : an assemblage of atoms forming part of a molecule
especially : FUNCTIONAL GROUP
(2) : an assemblage of elements forming one of the vertical columns of the periodic table

¹rad·i·cal definition

Pronunciation: /ˈrad-i-kəl/
Function: adj
1 : designed to remove the root of a disease or all diseased tissue <radical surgery>
2 : involving complete removal of an organ <radical prostatectomy>compare CONSERVATIVE
rad·i·cal·lyPronunciation: /-i-k(ə-)lē/
Function: adv

²radical definition

Function: n
: FREE RADICAL
also : a group of atoms bonded together that is considered an entity in various kinds of reactions

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2007 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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group (gr&oomacr;p)
n.

An assemblage of persons or objects gathered or located together; an aggregation.
A class or collection of related objects or entities.
Two or more atoms that behave or that are regarded as behaving as a single chemical unit.

v. grouped, group·ing, groups

To place or arrange in a group.
To belong to or form a group.

radical rad·i·cal (rād'ĭ-kəl)
n.
Abbr. R

A group of elements or atoms usually passing intact from one compound to another but generally incapable of prolonged existence in a free state.
A free radical.

adj.

Of or being medical treatment by extreme, drastic, or innovative measures.
Designed to act on or eliminate the root or cause of a pathological process.

Science Dictionary

group

(gr

p) Pronunciation Key

Chemistry
1. Two or more atoms that are bound together and act as a unit in a number of chemical compounds, such as a hydroxyl (OH) group.
2. In the Periodic Table, a vertical column that contains elements having the same number of electrons in the outermost shell of their atoms. Elements in the same group have similar chemical properties. See Periodic Table.
Mathematics A set with an operation whose domain is all ordered pairs of members of the set, such that the operation is binary (operates on two elements) and associative, the set contains the identity element of the operation, and each element of the set has an inverse element for the operation. The positive and negative integers and zero form a set that is a group under the operation of ordinary addition, since zero is the identity element of addition and the negative of each integer is its inverse. Groups are used extensively in quantum physics and chemistry to model phenomena involving symmetry and invariance.

radical

(rād'ĭ-kəl) Pronunciation Key

A root, such as √2, especially as indicated by a radical sign (√).
A group of atoms that behaves as a unit in chemical reactions and is often not stable except as part of a molecule. The hydroxyl, ethyl, and phenyl radicals are examples. Radicals are unchanged by chemical reactions.

Cultural Dictionary

radical definition

In politics, someone who demands substantial or extreme changes in the existing system.

radical definition

In chemistry, an atom or group of atoms that has at least one electron free to participate in forming a chemical bond.

Note: In general, radicals are associated with chemical reactions that proceed rapidly.

Slang Dictionary

radical definition

mod.
great; excellent. (California.) : My boyfriend, he's, like, so radical!

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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