Meaning & use
radical idea
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
a new plan or thought that is very different from what people normally accept or expect
Grammar: Countable: say a radical idea, radical ideas, or the radical idea that...
Patterns
- a radical idea for something
- a radical idea that + clause
- come up with a radical idea
Her radical idea was to let customers pay whatever they thought the meal was worth.
The mayor's radical idea for empty offices — turning them into homes — surprised everyone.
At first the team laughed at his radical idea, but two years later the whole industry copied it.
nouncountable
a belief that goes far beyond the usual political or social thinking of a group
Grammar: Often plural (radical ideas) when talking about a set of beliefs; can follow verbs like spread or hold.
Patterns
- hold radical ideas
- spread radical ideas
- radical ideas about something
He held radical ideas about land ownership that alarmed his neighbors.
The pamphlet spread radical ideas among young factory workers.
Her radical ideas about education were seen as dangerous at the time.
Word forms
| plural | radical ideas |
|---|
Common combinations
- come up with a radical idea
- She came up with a radical idea for cutting waiting times in half.
- a radical idea for doing something
- They needed a radical idea for attracting younger readers.
- a truly radical idea
- Free public transport sounded like a truly radical idea twenty years ago.
- dismiss a radical idea
- The board dismissed his radical idea without even discussing it.
- a radical idea takes hold
- The radical idea slowly took hold in universities across the country.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bold idea
- Bold stresses courage rather than newness; a bold idea may still fit familiar thinking, while a radical idea breaks with it.
- innovative idea
- Innovative means new and useful, but not necessarily extreme; a radical idea often shocks people at first.
- revolutionary idea
- Revolutionary is stronger and suggests the idea changes everything; use it when the change is dramatic.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: radical idea or radical? radical idea or rational idea?
radical idea vs radical
As a noun, a radical is a person with extreme political views; the phrase radical idea uses radical as an adjective meaning very new and different.
radical idea vs rational idea
Rational means based on clear reasoning, not new or extreme; a rational idea can be completely ordinary.
Practice
Which sentence uses "radical idea" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Radical idea" is a noun phrase, so it fits after verbs like come up with. Option 0 wrongly puts a verb before it, option 2 uses it as a verb, and option 3 treats it as something that can act.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “radical idea”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.