reactionary
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of reactionary
Explanation
A reactionary is someone who opposes reform or change, especially in the realm of politics. A reactionary is someone reacting (in horror) to what others consider to be progress. No one describes themselves as reactionary — you will hear it more often as a condemnation, as in "I cannot support the reactionary policy of mandatory military service for 18-year-olds."
Vocabulary lists containing reactionary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Reactionary conservatism didn’t become a defining aspect of Miller’s persona until he started high school, according to Jason Islas, one of his best friends in middle school.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2025
In “The Reactionary Poet,” he claims that title in opposition to self-styled revolutionaries whose orthodoxy chokes out creativity and joy.
From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2023
Also joining me was Osita Nwanevu, who’s a staff writer at the New Republic, and whose recent article, “The Willful Blindness of Reactionary Liberalism,” is the most frequently cited critique of the Harper’s letter.
From Slate • Jul. 18, 2020
“There’s an effort to find a winning formula,” says Corey Robin, author of The Reactionary Mind, probably the most acclaimed recent book on conservatism.
From The Guardian • May 28, 2019
Reactionary Hæmorrhage.—Reactionary or intermediary hæmorrhage is really a recurrence of primary bleeding.
From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
