as in revolutionaries
a person who favors rapid and sweeping changes especially in laws and methods of government
radicals staged large, violent protests in the hopes of toppling the government
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Recent Examples of radicals
Now some Republicans are depicting the No Kings movement as a band of radicals, out of step with mainstream political opinion.
—
Susan Page, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2026
The convergence of Abundance centrists and conservative environmentalists would seem to belie the ACC’s assertion that the environmental movement is dominated by radicals who would rather sabotage the American economy than accept any of the compromises necessary to achieve a prosperous future.
—Gaby Del Valle, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Berets were fashionable among radicals and the very old.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Wood argues that colleges are not only staffed with a disproportionate number of radicals who indoctrinate the students but also have turned everything from dormitory management to the dining halls over to the left.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2026
Father Ed and Bishop Rob Hirschfeld aren’t political radicals.
—Ernesto Burden, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2026
She was abducted from UC Berkeley by a small cadre of Bay Area militant radicals, who demanded her family pay to feed the poor en masse.
—Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
Then the Department of Justice ordered federal prosecutors and the FBI to investigate Good’s family for ties to left-wing radicals, leading several prosecutors to resign.
—The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
The problem is the unhinged reaction to ICE’s presence by leftist radicals who have a lot in common with your average anarchist.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2026
Susan Page, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2026
The convergence of Abundance centrists and conservative environmentalists would seem to belie the ACC’s assertion that the environmental movement is dominated by radicals who would rather sabotage the American economy than accept any of the compromises necessary to achieve a prosperous future.
—Gaby Del Valle, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Berets were fashionable among radicals and the very old.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Wood argues that colleges are not only staffed with a disproportionate number of radicals who indoctrinate the students but also have turned everything from dormitory management to the dining halls over to the left.
—Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2026
Father Ed and Bishop Rob Hirschfeld aren’t political radicals.
—Ernesto Burden, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2026
She was abducted from UC Berkeley by a small cadre of Bay Area militant radicals, who demanded her family pay to feed the poor en masse.
—Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
Then the Department of Justice ordered federal prosecutors and the FBI to investigate Good’s family for ties to left-wing radicals, leading several prosecutors to resign.
—The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
The problem is the unhinged reaction to ICE’s presence by leftist radicals who have a lot in common with your average anarchist.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for radicals
Noun
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The game happened to be on November 18th, the anniversary of Haitian revolutionaries defeating the French Army in 1803 before declaring independence.—
Albert Samaha,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2026
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Until the 1950s, its inmates were Vietnamese revolutionaries – or anyone deemed to be such – and conditions were truly horrendous.—
Tamara Hinson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Yet Ali’s act does not only evoke terrorist incidents such as the Charlie Hebdo attack, perpetrated by Muslim extremists, just a few months prior to The Red Chador.—
H.M.A. Leow,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Mar. 2026
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In 2022, two officers were shot dead by Christian extremists at a rural property in Queensland state.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Radicals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/radicals. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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