English Online Dictionary. What means radical? What does radical mean?
English
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English radical, from Latin rādīcālis (“of or pertaining to the root, having roots, radical”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɹædɪkəl/
- Homophone: radicle
Adjective
radical (comparative more radical, superlative most radical)
- Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.
- (botany, not comparable) Pertaining to a root (of a plant).
- Pertaining to the basic or intrinsic nature of something.
- Synonym: fundamental
- Antonyms: ignorable, trivial
- Thoroughgoing; far-reaching.
- (lexicography, not comparable) Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
- (phonology, phonetics, not comparable, of a sound) Produced using the root of the tongue.
- Coordinate terms: coronal, dorsal, labial, laryngeal
- (chemistry, not comparable) Involving free radicals.
- (mathematics) Relating to a radix or mathematical root.
- (slang, 1980s & 1990s) Excellent; awesome.
Synonyms
- (linguistics, in reference to words): primitive
Antonyms
- (linguistics, in reference to words): derivative, derived
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Noun
radical (plural radicals)
- (historical, 19th-century Britain) A member of the most progressive wing of the Liberal Party; someone favouring social reform (but generally stopping short of socialism).
- (historical, early 20th-century France) A member of an influential, centrist political party favouring moderate social reform, a republican constitution, and secular politics.
- A person with radical opinions.
- (arithmetic) A root (of a number or quantity).
- (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 phonetic.
- (linguistics) In Celtic languages, refers to the basic, underlying form of an initial consonant which can be further mutated under the Celtic initial consonant mutations.
- (linguistics) In Semitic languages, any one of the set of consonants (typically three) that make up a root.
- (chemistry) A group of atoms, joined by covalent bonds, that take part in reactions as a single unit.
- (organic chemistry) A free radical.
- (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.
- (algebra, ring theory, of a ring) Given a ring R, an ideal containing elements of R that share a property considered, in some sense, "not good".
- (algebra, ring theory, of a module) The intersection of maximal submodules of a given module.
- (number theory) The product of the distinct prime factors of a given positive integer.
Derived terms
Related terms
- nilradical
Translations
References
- “radical”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “radical”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- "radical" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 251.
Further reading
- Radical on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Radical of an ideal on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Radical of a ring on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Radical of a module on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Radical of an integer on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Radical of an ideal on Encyclopedia of Mathematics
- Ideal Radical on Wolfram MathWorld
Anagrams
- aldaric, cardial
Catalan
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /rə.diˈkal/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /ra.diˈkal/
Adjective
radical m or f (masculine and feminine plural radicals)
- radical
Derived terms
- radicalment
- radicalisme
- radicalitzar
Noun
radical m or f by sense (plural radicals)
- radical
Further reading
- “radical” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “radical”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
- “radical” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “radical” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin rādīcālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʁa.di.kal/
- Rhymes: -al
- Homophones: radicale, radicales
Adjective
radical (feminine radicale, masculine plural radicaux, feminine plural radicales)
- radical
Noun
radical m (plural radicaux)
- (linguistics, grammar) radical, root
Further reading
- “radical”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
Pronunciation
Noun
radical m (plural radicais)
- radical (in various senses)
Derived terms
- radicalismo
- radicalizar
- radicalmente
Further reading
- “radical” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -al, -aw
- Hyphenation: ra‧di‧cal
Noun
radical m (plural radicais)
- (linguistic morphology) root (primary lexical unit of a word)
- Synonym: raiz
Noun
radical m or f by sense (plural radicais)
- radical (person holding unorthodox views)
- Synonym: extremista
Adjective
radical m or f (plural radicais)
- radical (favouring fundamental change)
- drastic; extreme
- (Brazil, slang) excellent; awesome; thrilling
- (sports) extreme (dangerous)
Derived terms
- radicalismo
- radicalizar
- radicalmente
Further reading
- “radical” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French radical or German Radikal.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ra.diˈkal/
Adjective
radical m or n (feminine singular radicală, masculine plural radicali, feminine and neuter plural radicale)
- radical
Declension
Related terms
- radicalist
- radicaliza
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin rādīcālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /radiˈkal/ [ra.ð̞iˈkal]
- Rhymes: -al
- Syllabification: ra‧di‧cal
Adjective
radical (plural radicales)
- radical, seismic
Derived terms
Noun
radical m (plural radicales)
- radical
Derived terms
Further reading
- “radical”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014