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### Overview

This page has 35 definitions of radical with English translations in 7 languages. Radical is an adjective and noun. Examples of how to use radical in a sentence are shown. Also define these 55 related words and terms: fundamental, botany, root, basic, intrinsic, ignorable, trivial, thoroughgoing, far-reaching, lexicography, phonology, phonetics, coronal, dorsal, labial, laryngeal, chemistry, free radical, mathematics, radix, awesome, arithmetic, linguistics, logographic, phonetic, Semitic, atom, covalent bond, reaction, unit, organic chemistry, algebra, ideal, commutative, ring, positive, integer, intersection, prime ideal, module, submodule, number theory, prime factor, radical, grammar, linguistic, morphology, raiz, extremista, drastic, extreme, excellent, thrilling, sports, and seismic.

## English

### Etymology

From French radical, from Late Latin rādīcālis (of or pertaining to the root, having roots, radical), from Latin rādix (root); see radix.

### Pronunciation

• enPR: rădʹĭk-əl, IPA(key): /ˈɹædɪkəl/
•  Audio (AU) (file)

1. Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.
• ##### Fundamental definition
A leading or primary principle, rule, law, or article, which serves as the groundwork of a system; an essential part (1 of 3 fundamental definitions)
2. () Pertaining to a root (of a plant).
• ##### Botany definition
The scientific study of plants, a branch of biology. Typically those disciplines that involve the whole plant. (1 of 4 botany definitions)
3. Pertaining to the basic or intrinsic nature of something.
Synonym: fundamental
Antonyms: ignorable, trivial
4. Thoroughgoing; far-reaching.
• 2012 January 1, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 1, page 70:
Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.
The spread of the cancer required radical surgery, and the entire organ was removed.
5. () Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
6. (phonology, phonetics, not comparable, of a sound) Produced using the root of the tongue.
Coordinate terms: coronal, dorsal, labial, laryngeal
• ##### Phonetics definition
The study of the physical sounds of human speech, concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds (phones), and the processes of their physiological production, auditory reception, and neurophysiological perception, and their representation by written symbols.
• ##### Chemistry definition
The branch of natural science that deals with the composition and constitution of substances and the changes that they undergo as a consequence of alterations in the constitution of their molecules. (1 of 3 chemistry definitions)
8. (mathematics) Relating to a radix or mathematical root.
9. (slang, 1980s & 1990s) Excellent; awesome.

#### Synonyms

• (linguistics, in reference to words): primitive

### Noun

1. (historical, 19th-century Britain) A member of the most progressive wing of the Liberal Party; someone favouring social reform (but generally stopping short of socialism).
2. (historical, early 20th-century France) A member of an influential, centrist political party favouring moderate social reform, a republican constitution, and secular politics.
3. A person with radical opinions.
4. (arithmetic) A root (of a number or quantity).
5. (linguistics) In logographic writing systems such as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a character (if any) that provides an indication of its meaning, as opposed to phonetic.
• ##### Linguistics definition
The scientific study of language.
• ##### Logographic definition
Of, related to, or composed of logographs.
6. (linguistics) In Semitic languages, any one of the set of consonants (typically three) that make up a root.
7. (chemistry) A group of atoms, joined by covalent bonds, that take part in reactions as a single unit.
• ##### Covalent Bond definition
A type of chemical bond where two atoms are connected to each other by the sharing of two or more electrons.
8. (organic chemistry) A free radical.
9. (algebra, commutative algebra, ring theory, of an ideal) Given an ideal I in a commutative ring R, another ideal, denoted Rad(I) or ${\displaystyle {\sqrt {I}}}$ , such that an element xR is in Rad(I) if, for some positive integer n, xnI; equivalently, the intersection of all prime ideals containing I.
• ##### Algebra definition
A system for computation using letters or other symbols to represent numbers, with rules for manipulating these symbols. (1 of 8 algebra definitions)
• ##### Integer definition
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
A number that is not a fraction; an element of the infinite and numerable set {..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}.
• ##### Prime Ideal definition
Any (two-sided) ideal ${\displaystyle I}$ such that for arbitrary ideals ${\displaystyle P}$ and ${\displaystyle Q}$ , ${\displaystyle PQ\subseteq I\implies P\subseteq I}$ or ${\displaystyle Q\subseteq I}$ . (1 of 2 prime ideal definitions)
10. (algebra, ring theory, of a ring) Given a ring R, an ideal containing elements of R that share a property considered, in some sense, "not good".
11. (algebra, ring theory, of a module) The intersection of maximal submodules of a given module.
12. (number theory) The product of the distinct prime factors of a given positive integer.

#### Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Dictionary:Entry layout § Translations.

## French

### Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin rādīcālis.

### Pronunciation

• IPA(key): /ʁa.di.kal/
• Rhymes: -al
•  Audio (France, Paris) (file)

L'idéologie islamiste radicale de Boko Haram a provoqué le déplacement de plus de deux millions de personnes dans le nord du Nigeria.
The radical Islamist ideology of Boko Haram caused more than two million persons to be displaced in northern Nigeria.

## Portuguese

### Noun

1. () root (primary lexical unit of a word)
Synonym: raiz
• ##### Morphology definition
A scientific study of form and structure, usually without regard to function. Especially:
1. The study of the internal structure of morphemes (words and their semantic building blocks).
2. The study of the form and structure of animals and plants.
3. The study of the structure of rocks and landforms.
4. Mathematical morphology.
(1 of 7 morphology definitions)
• ##### Raiz definition
alternative form of rayz

### Noun

1. radical (person holding unorthodox views)
Synonym: extremista
extremist

2. ; extreme
• ##### Drastic definition
Having a strong or far-reaching effect; extreme, severe. (1 of 2 drastic definitions)
3. () excellent; awesome; thrilling
• ##### Thrilling definition
4. (sports) extreme (dangerous)

#### Derived terms

• radical” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

## Spanish

### Etymology

From Latin rādīcālis or Latin rādīx + Spanish suffix -al.

### Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ra‧di‧cal