as in conservative
tending to favor established ideas, conditions, or institutions
reactionary guardians of proper English usage invariably regard every new coinage that comes along as a nonword
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in rightist
a person whose political beliefs are centered on tradition and keeping things the way they are
reactionaries tried to stop the passage of the legislation extending civil rights
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2
as in veteran
a person with old-fashioned ideas
a reactionary in the nation's ongoing culture war, she seems to believe that watching any TV at all will rot your brain
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reactionary
Kevin Lozano, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
Here, as ever, Kokopeli suggests that clinging to youthful talismans offers no protection against uncertainty, and reasserts the odd mix of disaffection and morbid glee produced by such reactionary impulses.
—Theo Belci, Artforum, 2 June 2026
Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026
Like Curtis Yarvin and other neo-reactionaries, Land abhors democracy.
—James Duesterberg, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reactionary
Adjective
The demonization of minorities was nothing new, of course, but New York in the Seventies birthed a reactionary movement that was supported by politicians, public intellectuals, elites, and working people alike.
—Kevin Lozano, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
Here, as ever, Kokopeli suggests that clinging to youthful talismans offers no protection against uncertainty, and reasserts the odd mix of disaffection and morbid glee produced by such reactionary impulses.
—Theo Belci, Artforum, 2 June 2026
Noun
Radicals such as Sumner also warned, presciently, that the Fifteenth Amendment did not go far enough, and that its flaws would ultimately allow anti-Black reactionaries to undermine its purpose.
—Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026
Like Curtis Yarvin and other neo-reactionaries, Land abhors democracy.
—James Duesterberg, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reactionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reactionary
Adjective
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Being too conservative with long-term retirement money, parking it in cash or short-term bonds out of fear, can be just as damaging as taking on too much risk.—
Jonathan I. Shenkman,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
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The court, which has a conservative 6-3 majority, split along ideological lines when deciding Bruen in a case that expanded the Second Amendment right to bear arms outside the home.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
Noun
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Phillies legend Jimmy Rollins will manage the National League team and former MLB veteran Rickie Weeks will lead the American League team.—
Frederick Sutton Sinclair,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
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Brian Gutiérrez, the Mexican American who played a key role in the opener as South Africa was hit a with a red card while trying to stop him, and veteran Roberto Alvarado, who recorded an assist against South Africa, joined Rangel as Chivas starters in the opener.—
Eduard Cauich,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
Adjective
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AerAware departs from traditional head-up displays and instead equips both pilots with a dual wearable system that delivers the same information to each cockpit seat.—
Amalia Roy,
FOXNews.com,
24 June 2026
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Inspired by the traditional Japanese spinning top beigoma (hence BEY-blade), the toy line first became a hit when it was debuted by toymaker Takara in the late 90s and early 2000s.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
24 June 2026
Adjective
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Right wing had long been a problem position, with No 10s such as Xavi Simons often being forced wide to plug a hole, or orthodox wingers failing to gel with the uber-attacking full-back Denzel Dumfries.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
14 June 2026
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In an age of intelligent machines, who gets to decide what is orthodox remains one of the most important questions a free society can ask.—
Joseph Andrew,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reactionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reactionary. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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