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reactionary

[ree-ak-shuh-ner-ee]

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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.

Sometimes re·ac·tion·ist [ree-ak-shuh-nist] /riˈæk ʃə nɪst/.

Origin of reactionary

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

Related formsre·ac·tion·ism, re·ac·tion·ar·y·ism, re·ac·tion·ar·ism

[ree-ak-shuh-nuh-riz-uhm] /riˈæk ʃə nəˌrɪz əm/, nounan·ti·re·ac·tion·ar·y, noun, plural an·ti·re·ac·tion·ar·ies, adjectivehalf-re·ac·tion·ar·y, adjectivenon·re·ac·tion·ar·y, adjective, noun, plural non·re·ac·tion·ar·ies.sem·i·re·ac·tion·ar·y, adjective, noun, plural sem·i·re·ac·tion·ar·ies.un·re·ac·tion·ar·y, adjective

Can be confusedproactive reactionary reactive

Synonyms for reactionary

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR reactionary ON THESAURUS.COM

1, 2. ultraconservative.

Antonyms for reactionary

1, 2. radical.

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

Related Words for reactionist

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

Examples from the Web for reactionist

Historical Examples of reactionist

Yet he has abandoned the policy of the late king by appointing a reactionist ministry.
The International Monthly Magazine, Volume 5, No. 1, January, 1852
Various
"I care as much for the liberty of other people as for that of France," said a Federal to a reactionist.
History of the Commune of 1871
P. Lissagary
Charlotte Corday was a reactionist, but she slew Marat and died calmly and bravely.
A Girl of the Commune
George Alfred Henty
Rousseau was an exception, but then Rousseau was in truth a reactionist, and not a loyal member of the great company of reformers.
Diderot and the Encyclopdists
John Morley
Reactionist in, and it soon became the fashion to decry the once much-lauded philosopher.
The Sayings of Confucius
Confucius

British Dictionary definitions for reactionist

reactionary

reactionist

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 Formsreactionism, 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

Word Origin and History for reactionist

reactionary

adj.

1831, on model of French réactionnaire (19c.), from réaction (see reaction). In Marxist use, "tending toward reversing existing tendencies," opposed to revolutionary and used opprobriously in reference to opponents of communism, by 1858. As a noun, "person considered reactionary," especially in politics, one who seeks to check or undo political action, by 1855.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

reactionist in Culture

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.