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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fogey
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
Nick Romano, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2025
An insufferably reactionary and conservative view of the counterculture?
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
The construction of the European Union has some roots in conservative and reactionary politics.
—TIME, 23 Feb. 2025
And further, that the mainstream obsession with the genre has made our legal system more reactionary and more fixated on punishment?
—The Learning Network, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reactionary
Adjective
Amanat recognizes how even their own internal conversations went to either end of the reactionary spectrum.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2025
An insufferably reactionary and conservative view of the counterculture?
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
The construction of the European Union has some roots in conservative and reactionary politics.
—TIME, 23 Feb. 2025
And further, that the mainstream obsession with the genre has made our legal system more reactionary and more fixated on punishment?
—The Learning Network, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reactionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reactionary
Adjective
-
In that joint letter, conservative groups warned Texas lawmakers that a court decision on the interchange fee restrictions enacted in Illinois means that state regulation of interchange fees must be extremely narrow in application in order to avoid violating the U.S. Constitution.—
Patrick Gleason,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
This calls for a more conservative approach to spending and taxes.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The tour will blend traditional banda hits with technobanda and la quebradita, a music and dance explosion that took the scene by storm during the 1990s.—
Tere Aguilera,
Billboard,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Launched in 2023 as part of Rolex’s homage to traditional watchmaking, the Perpetual 1908 carries Superlative Chronometer certification, ensuring precision within −2/+2 seconds per day.—
Renan Botelho,
Footwear News,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Before the game, Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said veteran pitcher Yu Darvish was progressing in playing catch, but there was no specific timetable for his return from elbow inflammation.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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The union represents nurses caring for patients' physical and mental health at veterans facilities around the country.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But having one of the masters of orthodox Hollywood storytelling at my side, by the monitor every single day, was so immensely helpful.—
William Earl,
Variety,
26 Dec. 2024
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Last year, many Orthodox Christians in Ukraine celebrated on December 25 for the first time, shifting away from Russian customs toward Western conventions and widely seen as a snub to Russia and its orthodox church, which has endorsed Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
26 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Reactionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reactionary. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
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