reactionary
adjective
re·ac·tion·ary
rē-ˈak-shə-ˌner-ē 
: relating to, marked by, or favoring reaction
especially
: ultraconservative in politics
reactionary
noun
Synonyms
Examples of reactionary in a Sentence
reactionary guardians of proper English usage invariably regard every new coinage that comes along as a nonword
Recent Examples on the Web
The foursome, consisting of frontman Zack de la Rocha, bassist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and Wilk, formed in the early 1990s and rocked the mainstream with its reactionary and politically charged music.
—
Variety, NBC News, 4 Jan. 2024
Advances in civil rights, economic equality, health-care access, or environmental policy have often triggered reactionary codas; since at least the end of Reconstruction, momentum toward multiracial democracy has inflamed particularly vitriolic responses.
—Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2024
Played with wry grandeur by Tim McIntire, Freed unites the musicians and their fans, and fosters new generations of both, in the face of official, racist, and reactionary opposition.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Those observing Ramadan also avoid reactionary emotions, explained Yasmin Saikia, an Arizona State University history professor.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2024
The tendency for reactionary hiring policies and spending sprees can tie the health of a company too closely to prevailing economic conditions.
—Al Khan, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
It was eventually brought out by Rusconi, an emerging publishing house that was establishing its name with editions of books by esoteric reactionary thinkers such as Ernst Jünger, Joseph de Maistre, and René Guénon.
—Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
That reactionary faction of the right continued to espouse affection for dictatorship even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when there was no longer an overriding foreign-policy justification for championing such regimes.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2024
This bias can result in reactionary investment strategies, such as buying high in a rising market or selling low in a downturn, often to the detriment of long-term portfolio performance.
—Dan Irvine, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Variety, NBC News, 4 Jan. 2024
Advances in civil rights, economic equality, health-care access, or environmental policy have often triggered reactionary codas; since at least the end of Reconstruction, momentum toward multiracial democracy has inflamed particularly vitriolic responses.
—Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2024
Played with wry grandeur by Tim McIntire, Freed unites the musicians and their fans, and fosters new generations of both, in the face of official, racist, and reactionary opposition.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Those observing Ramadan also avoid reactionary emotions, explained Yasmin Saikia, an Arizona State University history professor.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2024
The tendency for reactionary hiring policies and spending sprees can tie the health of a company too closely to prevailing economic conditions.
—Al Khan, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
It was eventually brought out by Rusconi, an emerging publishing house that was establishing its name with editions of books by esoteric reactionary thinkers such as Ernst Jünger, Joseph de Maistre, and René Guénon.
—Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
That reactionary faction of the right continued to espouse affection for dictatorship even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when there was no longer an overriding foreign-policy justification for championing such regimes.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2024
This bias can result in reactionary investment strategies, such as buying high in a rising market or selling low in a downturn, often to the detriment of long-term portfolio performance.
—Dan Irvine, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reactionary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near reactionary
Cite this Entry
“Reactionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reactionary. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share