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
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
Code Pink is a bunch of insane radicals and someone could have gotten hurt.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Jan. 2026
But a tragedy that falls on this woman and all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 9 Jan. 2026
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
Code Pink is a bunch of insane radicals and someone could have gotten hurt.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Jan. 2026
But a tragedy that falls on this woman and all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for radicals
Noun
-
Almost fifty years ago, Iran’s revolutionaries introduced a militant brand of Shiite Islam as a viable medium of political opposition and governance.—
Robin Wright,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Once back in power, Perón—and, after his death in 1974, his wife and successor, Isabelita—would demonize the revolutionaries as terrorists.—
Daniel R. Quiles,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
New Delhi vehemently denied the allegations and accused former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of harboring Sikh extremists of the Khalistan movement.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The cataclysmic and often chaotic conflict cost more Israeli and Palestinian lives than any war in their history, destroyed wide swaths of the enclave, empowered Israel’s extremists who sought to settle the territory, and sharply eroded Israel’s international standing.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Radicals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/radicals. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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