Reactionary

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /ɹiˈækʃən(ə)ɹi/

Definitions

1. Firmly resisting changes in society or politics and favoring a return to previous conditions
2. Showing a strong opposition to reforms and advocating for traditional values and systems
3. Holding views that reject progressive ideas and seek to preserve established institutions and customs

Etymology: The earliest English evidence for "reactionary" dates to 1799, in a reply by Lazare Carnot, the French revolutionary and military organizer, to a pamphlet about a coup that had taken place in September of that same year. The word was already a tool of political argument at its first appearance: it named someone who wanted to undo the Revolution and restore what had come before. The word was borrowed from French "réactionnaire," which was built from "réaction" (reaction) and the suffix "-aire," itself from Latin "-ārius," meaning "pertaining to" or "one who." Its literal sense is therefore "one who acts in reaction," a neat description of a political stance defined entirely by opposition to a change already underway. The notion of reaction as a political force followed the same logic. Because the Revolution had pushed in one direction, its opponents were cast as pushing back, and the term's meaning has stayed tied to that sense of backward motion ever since.

Synonyms: conservative, traditionalist

Antonyms: progressive, liberal, radical