1
as in conservatives
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 fogeys
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reactionaries
When Atsu was first revealed as the game’s protagonist, reactionaries jumped to disavow the sequel, citing bad-faith reasoning that failed to hide their prejudices.
—
Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2025
The Dreyfusards, his defenders, were largely liberal supporters of the secular, democratic Republic; the anti-Dreyfusards were mostly Roman Catholic reactionaries who despised everything the modern state represented.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Alyssa Mercante, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2025
The Dreyfusards, his defenders, were largely liberal supporters of the secular, democratic Republic; the anti-Dreyfusards were mostly Roman Catholic reactionaries who despised everything the modern state represented.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reactionaries
Noun
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The killing sparked a tense national debate over partisan rhetoric and politically motivated violence, with many conservatives calling for the firing of otherwise non-public figures who celebrated Kirk's death or spoke ill of him in some way.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Both started out as pretty firm conservatives, but eventually saw the court transform into a far more conservative group of justices.—
Nina Totenberg,
NPR,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As the investigations continued Tuesday into two separate mass shootings allegedly perpetrated over the weekend by Marine veterans wielding assault rifles, one in Michigan and the other in North Carolina, numerous questions remain unanswered -- chief among them motive.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
30 Sep. 2025
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Done right, remakes can be a fantastic way to introduce a franchise to a new audience, but also have to be transformative enough that veterans who’ve played the original come away with a different experience.—
George Yang,
Rolling Stone,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reactionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reactionaries. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
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