Meaning of 'radical' (Webster Dictionary)
- Of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the
root.
- 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.
- Belonging to, or proceeding from, the root of a plant; as,
radical tubers or hairs.
- Proceeding from a rootlike stem, or one which does not
rise above the ground; as, the radical leaves of the dandelion and the
sidesaddle flower.
- Relating, or belonging, to the root, or ultimate source of
derivation; as, a radical verbal form.
- Of or pertaining to a radix or root; as, a radical
quantity; a radical sign. See below.
- A radical vessel. See under Radical, a.
- A primitive word; a radix, root, or simple, underived,
uncompounded word; an etymon.
- A primitive letter; a letter that belongs to the radix.
- One who advocates radical changes in government or social
institutions, especially such changes as are intended to level class
inequalities; -- opposed to conservative.
- A characteristic, essential, and fundamental constituent
of any compound; hence, sometimes, an atom.
- Specifically, a group of two or more atoms, not completely
saturated, which are so linked that their union implies certain
properties, and are conveniently regarded as playing the part of a
single atom; a residue; -- called also a compound radical. Cf. Residue.
- A radical quantity. See under Radical, a.
Meaning of 'radical' (Princeton's WordNet)
Meaning (1):
- an atom or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron; in the body it is usually an oxygen molecule that has lost an electron and will stabilize itself by stealing an electron from a nearby molecule
Example in sentence:- in the body free radicals are high-energy particles that ricochet wildly and damage cells
Meaning (2):
- (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
Example in sentence:- thematic vowels are part of the stem
Meaning (3):
- of or relating to or constituting a linguistic root
Meaning (4):
- especially of leaves; located at the base of a plant or stem; especially arising directly from the root or rootstock or a root-like stem
Example in sentence:- basal placentation;
- radical leaves
Meaning (5):
- arising from or going to the root or source
Example in sentence:- a radical flaw in the plan
Meaning (6):
- markedly new or introducing radical change
Example in sentence:- a revolutionary discovery;
- radical political views
Meaning (7):
- (used of opinions and actions) far beyond the norm
Example in sentence:- an ultra conservative;
- extremist political views;
- radical opinions on education
Definition
[ a.]