Meaning & use
radical thinking
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The practice of questioning basic ideas and proposing completely new ways of doing things.
Grammar: No plural and no 'a': you say 'radical thinking is needed', not 'a radical thinking'.
Patterns
- radical thinking about something
- encourage radical thinking
- a lack of radical thinking
The company survived because its leaders encouraged radical thinking about how products are designed.
Her book argues that radical thinking is needed to solve the climate crisis.
Teachers who reward radical thinking often get surprising solutions from quiet students.
noununcountableformal
A set of extreme political or social beliefs that aim to replace the existing system.
Grammar: Used mainly in political or historical writing; still uncountable.
Patterns
- a tradition of radical thinking
- radical thinking in politics
The university became known for radical thinking in the 1960s.
His radical thinking worried the government, but it attracted many young followers.
Common combinations
- encourage radical thinking
- Good managers encourage radical thinking instead of punishing mistakes.
- radical thinking about something
- We need radical thinking about public transport.
- a lack of radical thinking
- The report blamed a lack of radical thinking for the company's decline.
- bold radical thinking
- The project failed because nobody was ready for bold radical thinking.
Synonyms and how they differ
- innovative thinking
- This sounds more positive and business-friendly; it suggests useful new ideas, while radical thinking can sound more extreme or risky.
- out-of-the-box thinking
- This is informal and means approaching a problem in an unusual way; radical thinking is broader and can include political or social beliefs.
- extremism
- This is strongly negative and describes political views seen as dangerous; radical thinking can be neutral or even approving.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: radical thinking or radicalization?
radical thinking vs radicalization
This means the process of someone adopting extreme political or religious views, often used about terrorism; radical thinking is simply the act of questioning basic ideas.
Practice
The CEO said the industry needs ______ to survive the next decade.
Choose one answer.
'Radical thinking' is uncountable, so it takes no article and no plural. 'A radical thinking' and 'radical thinkings' are wrong because uncountable nouns cannot be counted this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “radical thinking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.