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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Who Is Laura Loomer? Loomer, a conservative activist originally from Arizona, first shot to public attention in June 2017.—
Lee Habeeb,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Apr. 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
There are also displays dedicated to how Cartier translated the traditional arts of China, Japan, Iran, Egypt and the Russian Empire, where the House of Fabergé was famed for its decoratively colorful designs.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
10 Apr. 2025
-
The idea came from my frustration with traditional methods used to teach hospitality management.—
Betsy Pudliner,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Air Force veteran Mark Mendon of Blue Springs, Missouri, showed up to lend his support to the Satanic Grotto’s cause.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Citadel stars Game of Thrones veteran Richard Madden and Quantico’s Priyanka Chopra as elite spy agents who had their memories wiped years ago after encountering a shadowy syndicate known as Manticore.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Reactionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reactionary. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share