Etymologically
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reactionary

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 02:57. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɹiˈækʃən(ə)ɹi/[1]
  • US: /ɹiˈæk.ʃəˌnɛɚ.i/, /ɹiˈæk.t͡ʃəˌnɛɚ.i/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English reaction + -ary,[2][3][4][5] apparently at first after French réactionnaire, which the OED finds as a noun by 1799 and as an adjective by 1794.[2] Merriam-Webster takes the English word directly from the French one, formed from réaction and -aire.[6] The French noun goes back to Medieval Latin reactio,[3][7] a noun of action formed in Late Latin from the past participle stem of reagō (“to react”), from re- (“back”) and agō (“to do, perform”).[7] The OED compares the earlier French nouns réacteur and révolutionnaire.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a person in favour of reaction, especially one opposed to radical political or social reform and wishing to return to a former state of affairs: 1799, in a translation of Carnot's reply to the report on the conspiracy of 18 Fructidor.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to the politics of the French Revolution: French réaction had meant opposition to political progress or revolution since 1792.[2] In English the adjective, opposing political or social progress, follows in 1815,[2][6] and it came loosely to mean extremely conservative.[2] In Marxist use, by 1858, it meant tending to reverse existing tendencies, the opposite of revolutionary, and it was used as a term of abuse for opponents of communism.[7] A general sense, of or relating to a reaction or reversal of any kind, is recorded from 1847,[2][7] but Etymonline calls the non-political use rare.[7]

Timeline

  • 1799 – noun, a person favouring reaction and opposed to radical reform.[2] Etymonline dates the noun to 1855, Barnhart to 1858.[7][3]
  • 1815 – adjective, opposing political or social progress, in the Times.[2][6] Etymonline dates the adjective to 1831, and Barnhart to 1840, in John Stuart Mill.[7][3]
  • 1847 – of or relating to a reaction or reversal in general, in Grote's History of Greece.[2][7]
  • 1858 – in Marxist use, tending to reverse existing tendencies.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Opposing political or social progress or reform and favouring a return to an earlier order; very conservative: a reactionary government that rolled back the new labour laws.[8][6][2][9]
  2. Of, relating to, or forming a reaction or reversal of some kind.[2][8]

Noun

  1. A person who opposes political or social progress or reform.[2][6][8][9]

Word family

  • reactionaryism
  • reactionism

Usage notes

Collins also records reactionist as an adjective and noun, and reactionarist for the noun.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press