reactionary


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re·ac·tion·ar·y

 (rē-ăk′shə-nĕr′ē)
adj.
Characterized by reaction, especially opposition to progress or liberalism; extremely conservative: The principal is very reactionary; she wants the school to stay the way it has been for the last 50 years.
n. pl. re·ac·tion·ar·ies
An opponent of progress or liberalism; an extreme conservative.
Usage Note: Reactionary means "characterized by reaction, especially opposition to progress or liberalism; extremely conservative." Sometimes reactionary is used to mean "tending to overreact; very reactive," but that sense is widely viewed as a mistake. In 2012, 86 percent of the Usage Panel found the sentence The principal is very reactionary; she responds to every little crisis by calling an emergency meeting to be unacceptable.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

reactionary

(rɪˈækʃənərɪ; -ʃənrɪ) or

reactionist

adj
(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) of, relating to, or characterized by reaction, esp against radical political or social change
n, pl -aries or -ists
(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) Also: reactionarist a person opposed to radical change
reˈactionism n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

re•ac•tion•ar•y

(riˈæk ʃəˌnɛr i)

adj., n., pl. -ar•ies. adj.
1. pertaining to, marked by, or favoring reaction, esp. in politics; extremely conservative.
n.
2. a reactionary person.
Sometimes, re•ac′tion•ist.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.reactionary - an extreme conservativereactionary - an extreme conservative; an opponent of progress or liberalism
Bourbon - a reactionary politician in the United States (usually from the South)
Blimp, Colonel Blimp - any elderly pompous reactionary ultranationalistic person (after the cartoon character created by Sir David Low)
conservative, conservativist - a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas
Adj.1.reactionary - extremely conservative
right - of or belonging to the political or intellectual right
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

reactionary

adjective
noun
adjective & noun conservative radical, socialist, revolutionary, progressive, leftist, reformist
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

reactionary

adjective
1. Vehemently, often fanatically opposing progress or reform:
2. Clinging to obsolete ideas:
noun
A person who vehemently, often fanatically opposes progress and favors return to a previous condition:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
رَجْعي
reakcionář
reaktionær
reakciós
afturhaldssamur maîur
reakcionárreakcionársky

reactionary

[riːˈækʃənrɪ]
A. ADJreaccionario
B. Nreaccionario/a m/f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

reactionary

[riˈækʃənəri]
nréactionnaire mfreaction time ntemps m de réaction
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

reactionary

, reactionist
adjreaktionär
nReaktionär(in) m(f)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

reactionary

[riːˈækʃnrɪ] adj & nreazionario/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

react

(riˈӕkt) verb
1. to behave in a certain way as a result of something. How did he react when you called him a fool?; He reacted angrily to the criticism; Hydrogen reacts with oxygen to form water.
2. (with against) to behave or act in a certain way in order to show rejection of. Young people tend to react against their parents.
3. (with to) to be affected, usually badly, by (a drug etc). I react very badly to penicillin.
reˈaction (-ʃən) noun
1. the act of reacting. What was his reaction to your remarks?; I get a bad reaction from penicillin; I'd like to ask you for your reactions to these suggestions.
2. a change of opinions, feelings etc (usually against someone or something). The new government was popular at first, but then a reaction began.
3. a process of change which occurs when two or more substances are put together. (a) nuclear reaction; a chemical reaction between iron and acid.
reˈactionary (-ʃə-) adjective, noun
(plural reˈactionaries) (a person) opposed to change and progress or favouring a return to things as they were.
reˈactor noun
(also nuclear reactor) an apparatus in which nuclear energy is produced which can be used as a source of power, eg when converted into electricity.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
Where the Opposition that has not hurled back the branding reproach of Communism, against the more advanced opposition parties, as well as against its reactionary adversaries?
* The Black Hundreds were reactionary mobs organized by the perishing Autocracy in the Russian Revolution.
Seizing this favourable opportunity, the Circles hastily convened an extraordinary Assembly of the States; and besides the usual guard of Convicts, they secured the attendance of a large number of reactionary Women.
It was originally a nunnery, founded by Queen Bertha, but done away with by King Penda, the reactionary to Paganism after St.
"I am a reactionary - so complete a reactionary that my position is incomprehensible to you who live in a veiled lie of social organization and whose sight is not keen enough to pierce the veil.
I, for instance, would not be in the least surprised if all of a sudden, a propos of nothing, in the midst of general prosperity a gentleman with an ignoble, or rather with a reactionary and ironical, countenance were to arise and, putting his arms akimbo, say to us all: "I say, gentleman, hadn't we better kick over the whole show and scatter rationalism to the winds, simply to send these logarithms to the devil, and to enable us to live once more at our own sweet foolish will!" That again would not matter, but what is annoying is that he would be sure to find followers--such is the nature of man.
The reactionary excitement that gave her a proud self-mastery had not subsided, and she looked at the future with a sense of calm choice.
{revolution for other people = as he suggests frequently in this story, Cooper believed that the promise of the July Revolution was betrayed, and that the new government of King Louis Philippe proved little better than the old reactionary one of King Charles X; in this he shared the views of his friend the Marquis de Lafayette, the hero of the American Revolution, who as head of the French National Guard had been one of the leaders of the July Revolution in Paris}
Verner is pretty well rooted; all these rural places are what you call reactionary. Damning aristocrats won't alter it."
In the main, perhaps, it has been a reactionary and troublesome movement in the cities, and a progressive movement among the farmers.
For a while there was a reaction, so far as a certain element of my own race was concerned, but later these reactionary ones seemed to have been won over to my way of believing and acting.
They evicted the scholar class, which was violently reactionary, and put into office progressive officials.