Radicalization

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process in which an individual or group gradually adopts extreme political or social beliefs that deviate significantly from mainstream views
2. A progression whereby someone comes to support radical or revolutionary ideologies that challenge established norms
3. The development through which a person or faction embraces extremist ideas and behaviors that seek fundamental change

Etymology: Radicalization is a plain formation: "radical" with the suffixes "-ize" and "-ation" stacked on top. The adjective "radical" comes from Late Latin "radicalis", meaning "of roots", from Latin "radix", "root", and in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it took on political senses of going to the root of a problem. The "-ize" ending arrived through Medieval Latin and French, and "-ation" through Old French, both expressing the process of making something into a certain condition. The verb "radicalize" came first, and the noun followed from it by the usual route. Its meaning is therefore literal in structure: to make something go down to its roots. The modern sense, in which a person or group is drawn toward extreme ideas and actions, grew out of that political vocabulary of the radical.

Synonyms: extremism, transformation

Antonyms: moderation, conservatism