definitions

reactionary

[ ree-ak-shuh-ner-ee ]
/ riˈæk ʃəˌnɛr i /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR reactionary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, pertaining to, marked by, or favoring reaction, especially extreme conservatism or rightism in politics; opposing political or social change.

noun, plural re·ac·tion·ar·ies.

a reactionary person.

RELATED WORDS

rightist, traditionalist, ultraconservative, diehard, obscurantist, royalist, counterrevolutionary, Tory, mossback, intransigent, standpatter, die-hard

Nearby words

reaction engine, reaction formation, reaction of degeneration, reaction time, reaction turbine, reactionary, reactivate, reactive, reactive component, reactive depression, reactive hyperemia
Sometimes re·ac·tion·ist [ree-ak-shuh-nist] /riˈæk ʃə nɪst/.

Origin of reactionary

1830–40; reaction + -ary; compare French réactionnaire

Related forms

Can be confused

proactive reactionary reactive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for reactionist

British Dictionary definitions for reactionist

reactionary

reactionist

/ (rɪˈækʃənərɪ, -ʃənrɪ) /

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by reaction, esp against radical political or social change

noun plural -aries or -ists

a person opposed to radical change

Derived Forms

reactionism, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for reactionist

reactionary

An extremely conservative person or position that not only resists change but seeks to return to the “good old days” of an earlier social order.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.