About The Word Radical
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Radical
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Radical Definition And Meaning |
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What's The Definition Of Radical?
[n] (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
[n] a sign placed in front of an expression to denote that a root is to be extracted [n] a character conveying the lexical meaning of a logogram [n] a person who has radical ideas or opinions [n] (chemistry) two or more atoms bound together as a single unit and forming part of a molecule [n] an atom or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron; in the body it is usually an oxygen molecule than has lost an electron and will stabilize itself by stealing an electron from a nearby molecule; "in the body free radicals are high-energy particles that ricochet wildly and damage cells" [adj] (botany) especially of leaves; located at the base of a plant or stem; especially arising directly from the root or rootstock or a root-like stem; "basal placentation"; "radical leaves" [adj] (used of opinions and actions) far beyond the norm; "extremist political views"; "radical opinions on education"; "an ultra conservative" [adj] markedly new or introducing radical change; "a revolutionary discovery"; "radical political views" [adj] arising from or going to the root; "a radical flaw in the plan" [adj] (linguistics) of or relating to or constituting a linguistic root; "a radical verb form" Synonyms | Synonyms for Radical: basal | base | basic | chemical group | extremist | free radical | group | immoderate | new | radical sign | revolutionary | root | root | root word | stem | theme | ultra Related Terms | Find terms related to Radical: See Also | acyl | acyl group | alcohol group | alcohol radical | aldehyde group | aldehyde radical | alkyl | alkyl group | alkyl radical | allyl | allyl group | allyl radical | amino | amino group | anarchist | arsenic group | atom | azido group | azido radical | azo group | azo radical | benzoyl group | benzoyl radical | benzyl | benzyl group | benzyl radical | Bolshevik | bolshie | building block | cacodyl | cacodyl group | cacodyl radical | carbonyl group | carboxyl | carboxyl group | character | chromophore | controversialist | cyanide group | cyanide radical | cyano group | cyano radical | disputant | extremist | form | glyceryl | grapheme | graphic symbol | hydrazo group | hydrazo radical | hydroxyl | hydroxyl group | hydroxyl radical | ideogram | ideograph | ketone group | leveler | leveller | Marxist | mathematical notation | methylene | methylene group | methylene radical | molecule | nihilist | nitrite | nitro group | pinko | propyl | propyl group | propyl radical | red | revolutionary | revolutionist | signifier | subversive | subverter | syndicalist | terrorist | Trot | Trotskyist | Trotskyite | unit | uranyl | uranyl group | uranyl radical | vinyl | vinyl group | vinyl radical | word form | Young Turk Radical In Webster's Dictionary \Rad"i*cal\, a. [F., fr. L. radicalis having roots, fr.
radix, -icis, a root. See {Radix}.]
1. Of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the
root.
2. Hence: Of or pertaining to the root or origin; reaching to
the center, to the foundation to the ultimate sources to
the principles, or the like: original; fundamental;
thorough-going; unsparing; extreme; as, radical evils;
radical reform; a radical party.
The most determined exertions of that authority,
against them, only showed their radical
independence. --Burke.
3. (Bot.)
(a) Belonging to, or proceeding from, the root of a plant;
as, radical tubers or hairs.
(b) Proceeding from a rootlike stem, or one which does not
rise above the ground; as, the radical leaves of the
dandelion and the sidesaddle flower.
4. (Philol.) Relating, or belonging, to the root, or ultimate
source of derivation; as, a radical verbal form.
5. (Math.) Of or pertaining to a radix or root; as, a radical
quantity; a radical sign. See below.
{Radical axis of two circles}. (Geom.) See under {Axis}.
{Radical pitch}, the pitch or tone with which the utterance
of a syllable begins. --Rush.
{Radical quantity} (Alg.), a quantity to which the radical
sign is prefixed; specifically, a quantity which is not a
perfect power of the degree indicated by the radical sign;
a surd.
{Radical sign} (Math.), the sign [root] (originally the
letter r, the initial of radix, root), placed before any
quantity, denoting that its root is to be extracted; thus,
[root]a, or [root](a + b). To indicate any other than the
square root, a corresponding figure is placed over the
sign; thus [cuberoot]a, indicates the third or cube root
of a.
{Radical stress} (Elocution), force of utterance falling on
the initial part of a syllable or sound.
{Radical vessels} (Anat.), minute vessels which originate in
the substance of the tissues.
Syn: Primitive; original; natural; underived; fundamental;
entire.
Usage: {Radical}, {Entire}. These words are frequently
employed as interchangeable in describing some marked
alternation in the condition of things. There is,
however, an obvious difference between them. A radical
cure, reform, etc., is one which goes to the root of
the thing in question; and it is entire, in the sense
that, by affecting the root, it affects in a
appropriate degree the entire body nourished by the
root; but it may not be entire in the sense of making
a change complete in its nature, as well as in its
extent. Hence, we speak of a radical change; a radical
improvement; radical differences of opinion; while an
entire change, an entire improvement, an entire
difference of opinion, might indicate more than was
actually intended. A certain change may be both
radical and entire, in every sense.
\Rad"i*cal\, n. 1. (Philol.) (a) A primitive word; a radix, root, or simple, underived, uncompounded word; an etymon. (b) A primitive letter; a letter that belongs to the radix. The words we at present make use of, and understand only by common agreement, assume a new air and life in the understanding, when you trace them to their radicals, where you find every word strongly stamped with nature; full of energy, meaning, character, painting, and poetry. --Cleland. 2. (Politics) One who advocates radical changes in government or social institutions, especially such changes as are intended to level class inequalities; -- opposed to conservative. In politics they [the Independents] were, to use phrase of their own time. ``Root-and-Branch men,'' or, to use the kindred phrase of our own, Radicals. --Macaulay. 3. (Chem.) (a) A characteristic, essential, and fundamental constituent of any compound; hence, sometimes, an atom. As a general rule, the metallic atoms are basic radicals, while the nonmetallic atoms are acid radicals. --J. P. Cooke. (b) Specifically, a group of two or more atoms, not completely saturated, which are so linked that their union implies certain properties, and are conveniently regarded as playing the part of a single atom; a residue; -- called also a {compound radical}. Cf. {Residue}. 4. (Alg.) A radical quantity. See under {Radical}, a. An indicated root of a perfect power of the degree indicated is not a radical but a rational quantity under a radical form. --Davies & Peck (Math. Dict.) 5. (Anat.) A radical vessel. See under {Radical}, a. |
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