Etymology: (1350–1400; ME < LL rādīcālis having roots < L rādīc- (s. of rādīx) root1)
Definition of 'Radical'
Princeton's WordNet
1. (noun)group, radical, chemical group (chemistry) two or more atoms bound together as a singleunit and forming part of a molecule
2. (noun)free radical, radical an atom or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron; in the body it is usually an oxygenmolecule that has lost an electron and will stabilize itself by stealing an electron from a nearby molecule "in the body free radicals are high-energy particles that ricochet wildly and damage cells"
3. (noun)radical a person who has radical ideas or opinions
4. (noun)radical (mathematics) a quantity expressed as the root of another quantity
6. (adj)root, root word, base, stem, theme, radical (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
7. (adj)extremist, radical, ultra (used of opinions and actions) far beyond the norm "extremist political views"; "radical opinions on education"; "an ultra conservative"
8. (adj)revolutionary, radical markedly new or introducing radicalchange "a revolutionary discovery"; "radical political views"
9. (adj)radical arising from or going to the root or source "a radical flaw in the plan"
10. (adj)radical of or relating to or constituting a linguistic root "a radical verb form"
11. (adj)radical, basal 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 "basal placentation"; "radical leaves"
1. (adjective)radical extreme radical political beliefs
2. radical major or very great radical changes
Definition of 'Radical'
Webster Dictionary
1. (adj)Radical of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the root
2. (adj)Radical 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
3. (adj)Radical belonging to, or proceeding from, the root of a plant; as, radical tubers or hairs
4. (adj)Radical 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
5. (adj)Radical relating, or belonging, to the root, or ultimate source of derivation; as, a radical verbal form
6. (adj)Radical of or pertaining to a radix or root; as, a radical quantity; a radical sign. See below
7. (adj)Radical a radical vessel. See under Radical, a
8. (noun)Radical a primitive word; a radix, root, or simple, underived, uncompounded word; an etymon
9. (noun)Radical a primitive letter; a letter that belongs to the radix
10. (noun)Radical one who advocates radical changes in government or social institutions, especially such changes as are intended to levelclass inequalities; -- opposed to conservative
11. (noun)Radical a characteristic, essential, and fundamentalconstituent of any compound; hence, sometimes, an atom
12. (noun)Radical 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 compoundradical. Cf. Residue