Synonyms of reactionary

reactionary 1 of 2

adjective

rē-ˈak-shə-ˌner-ē 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• conservative
• traditional
• orthodox
• loyal
• conventional
• unprogressive
• ultraconservative
• hidebound
• staunch
• traditionalistic
• old-fashioned
• old-line
• old-school
• archconservative
• faithful
• standpat
• steadfast
• die-hard
• devoted
• paleoconservative
• true
• button-down
• right-wing
• mossbacked
• neoconservative
• brassbound
• square
• Tory
• steady
• stodgy
• true-blue
• ossified
• ultraright
• antiliberal
• antimodern
• ultrarightist
• dowdy
• right
• fuddy-duddy
• fogyish
• set
• blimpish
• antiprogressive
• antirevolutionary
• antireform

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberal
• progressive
• radical
• revolutionary
• extremist
• nontraditional
• nonconservative
• unconventional
• unorthodox
• nonconventional
• antiestablishment
• broad-minded
• open-minded
• modern
• nonconformist
• contemporary
• large-minded
• advanced
• nonorthodox
• antitraditional
• anticonventional
• lefty
• ultraleft
• ultraleftist
• ultraradical
• ultraprogressive

reactionary

2 of 2

noun

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• conservative
• rightist
• traditionalist
• Tory
• right-winger
• archconservative
• right-wing
• paleoconservative
• conformist
• neocon
• neoconservative
• right
• standpatter
• stuffed shirt
• bourbon
• Colonel Blimp
• diehard
• fuddy-duddy
• square

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• liberal
• leftist
• lefty
• extremist
• revolutionary
• red
• progressive
• revolutionist
• reformist
• left-winger
• radical
• reformer

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• conservative
• veteran
• fogy
• fossil
• mossback
• stuffed shirt
• stick-in-the-mud
• rightist
• Colonel Blimp
• antediluvian
• fuddy-duddy
• fud
• Tory
• dodo
• old hand
• mandarin
• old maid
• old-timer

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• modern
• trendy
• liberal
• hipster
• progressive
• radical

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of reactionary

Adjective

Only within the logic of an authoritarian or deeply reactionary culture can justice and beauty become controversial aims. — The Atlantic, 16 June 2026

Garrett says the new protocols acknowledge that academic institutions have the responsibility to take steps for the safety of their researchers and protect them from potentially dangerous interactions with conspiracy theorists and other reactionary zealots. — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 12 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