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 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
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
This cycle of reactionary leadership not only stifles innovation but also erodes trust and morale within organizations.
—Glenn Llopis, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for reactionary
Adjective
That Watson hasn’t used these moments of victimhood to become reactionary is part of what seems to anger Rowling.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
This cycle of reactionary leadership not only stifles innovation but also erodes trust and morale within organizations.
—Glenn Llopis, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Noun
Yes, the movie’s reactionaries are ridiculous, never more so than when Penn’s comic-book antagonist is onscreen.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for reactionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reactionary
Adjective
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The conservative backlash isn’t surprising, but we were still left genuinely puzzled by the unshakable belief that a lesbian nun is as far-fetched a notion as a flying elephant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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The texts emerged as Republicans have sought to link Democrats’ rhetoric to acts of political violence, including the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.—
Kevin Breuninger,Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Anyone who doesn’t hold the same nostalgic hankering for veteran actresses holding court with one-woman shows might not be blamed for opting out.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
2 Nov. 2025
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He was released after a few weeks in jail when filmmaker Jen Gatien pledged her $2 million Manhattan apartment where the combat veteran was living as collateral for a bond.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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From industry sources, Fortune estimates that at an annual run rate, the three directs areas combined—the traditional variety, CVs, and co-invests—are raising well over $5 billion a year.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
-
Similar muscles are used as those in the traditional squat, including the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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An ultra-orthodox school sat adjacent to the library, and its staff supplied the settlers with sleeping mats and air conditioning for the long night.—
Ryan Byrnes,
Literary Hub,
7 Oct. 2025
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The Vatican said Leo will travel to the town of Iznik, modern day Nicaea, for the anniversary and while in Turkey is expected to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Batholomew, the spiritual leader of the approximately 300 million Eastern orthodox Christians.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reactionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reactionary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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