Radicalize

//ˈɹædɪkəlaɪz// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make radical. transitive

    "The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to radicalize the whole society, to create mass participation at all levels of decision-making, and to restore the revolutionary élan of the 1940s."

  2. 2
    make more radical in social or political outlook wordnet
  3. 3
    To become radical; to adopt a radical political stance. intransitive

    "He’s a delight and provides a little break in one’s timeline between heart-stopping political developments, at least until he himself radicalizes, which is bound to happen soon, because he is a French bulldog."

Example

More examples

"The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to radicalize the whole society, to create mass participation at all levels of decision-making, and to restore the revolutionary élan of the 1940s."

Etymology

From radical + -ize.

Related phrases

self-radicalize

More for "radicalize"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.