radical
/ˈɹædɪkəl/adjective, noun
radical is spelled R-A-D-I-C-A-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, radical means “Of or pertaining to the root of a plant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in radical?
| Letters | 7: R-A-D-I-C-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 21 times per million words; the 4,076th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is radical?
Radical appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce radical?
- /ˈɹædɪkəl/
- British /ˈɹadɪkəl/
Radical has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-radical.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with radical
Sounds like: radicle (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with radical?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as radical.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: cardial.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of radical
- more radical comparative
- most radical superlative
- radicals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does radical mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to the root of a plant.
- 2
Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
- 3
Produced using the root of the tongue.
- 4
Relating to a radix or mathematical root.
a radical quantity; a radical sign
- 5
Pertaining to the basic or intrinsic nature of something.
- 6
Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.
His beliefs are radical.
- 7
Thoroughgoing; far-reaching.
The spread of the cancer required radical surgery, and the entire organ was removed.
- 8
Involving free radicals.
noun
- 1
A root (of a number or quantity).
- 2
In logographic writing systems such as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a character (if any) that provides an indication of its meaning, as opposed to being wholly phonetic.
- 3
proscribedAny component of a logographic character, whether used for indexing or not, whether semantic or not.
- 4
In Celtic languages, the basic, underlying form of an initial consonant which can be further mutated under the Celtic initial consonant mutations.
- 5
In Semitic languages, any one of the set of consonants (typically three) that make up a root.
- 6
A group of atoms, joined by covalent bonds, that take part in reactions as a single unit.
- 7
A free radical.
- 8
Given an ideal I in a commutative ring R, another ideal, denoted Rad(I) or √, such that an element x ∈ R is in Rad(I) if, for some positive integer n, xⁿ ∈ I; equivalently, the intersection of all prime ideals containing I.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate radical?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of radical: rad.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Radical in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | radical , génial , racine , clé , radicale |
| Spanish | radical |
| Portuguese | radical |
| German | krass , Wurzel, Radix , Wurzel- , radikal , radikalisch |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does radical come from?
Inherited from Middle English radical, from Latin rādīcālis (“of or pertaining to the root, having roots, radical”). Compare grassroots.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).