Arrant vs Radical - What's the difference?
arrant | radical |
Utter; complete.
* circa 1600 , (William Shakespeare), (Hamlet) , scene 1:
* “ Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.
(botany, not comparable) Pertaining to a root (of a plant).
Pertaining to the basic or intrinsic nature of something.
* Burke
Thoroughgoing.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-01
, author=Donald Worster
, title=A Drier and Hotter Future
, volume=100, issue=1, page=70
, magazine=
(linguistics, not comparable) Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
(linguistics, not comparable, of a sound) Produced using the root of the tongue.
(chemistry, not comparable) Involving free radicals.
(math) Relating to a radix or mathematical root.
Excellent; awesome.
A member of the most progressive wing of the Liberal Party; someone favouring social reform (but generally stopping short of socialism).
A member of an influential, centrist political party favouring moderate social reform, a republican constitution, and secular politics.
A person with radical opinions.
(arithmetic) A root (of a number or quantity).
(linguistics) In logographic writing systems as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a character (if any) that provides an indication of its meaning, as opposed to phonetic .
(linguistics) In Semitic languages, any one of the set of consonants (typically three) that make up a root.
(chemistry) A group of atoms, joined by covalent bonds, that take part in reactions as a single unit.
(organic chemistry) A free radical.
As adjectives the difference between arrant and radical
is that arrant is utter; complete while radical is favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.As a noun radical is
a member of the most progressive wing of the liberal party; someone favouring social reform (but generally stopping short of socialism).arrant
English
Alternative forms
* (l) (obsolete)Adjective
(er)- arrant nonsense!'' Thomas Bennet, A Brief History of the Joint Use of Recompos'd Set Forms of Prayer...to wich is annexed a Discourse of the Gost of Prayer],
p. 187
- We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us.
Usage notes
Particularly used in the phrase “arrant' knaves”, quoting ''Hamlet,'' and “' arrant nonsense”.Safire, 2006, considers “arrant nonsense” to be “wedded words”, a form of a fixed phrase. Some dictionaries consider arrant simply an alternative form of errant, but in usage they have long since split. The word has long been considered archaic, may be confused with errant, and is used primarily in , on which basis some recommend against using it.References
arrant/errant”, Common Errors in English Usage, Paul Brians *
On Language: Arrant Nonsense, (William Safire), January 22, 2006, (New York Times) * Merriam–Webster’s dictionary of English usage, 1995,
“errant, arrant”, pp. 406–407
radical
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- His beliefs are radical .
- The most determined exertions of that authority, against them, only showed their radical independence.
citation, passage=Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.}}
- The spread of the cancer required radical surgery, and the entire organ was removed.
- a radical''' quantity; a '''radical sign
- That was a radical jump!