radical
1136
important effects; thorough and complete: a radical reform
of our tax system | The talks are aimed at radical reductions
in the level of weapons. 2 (of a person or his/her opinions)
in favour of thorough and complete political change: radi-
cal views | the radical wing of the party | the radical right →
compare REACTIONARY 3 AmE slang very good: a radical wave
to surf —ly /kli/ adv
radical² n a person who is in favour of radical changes,
especially social and political changes —ism n [U]
,radical 'chic n [U] derog LEFT WING political opinions which
are not sincere but are held because of a desire to appear
fashionable
rad·i·cal·ize also -ise BrE /'rædɪkəlaɪz/ v [T] to make people
accept new and different ideas, especially ideas about com-
plete social and political change
ra·dic·chi·o /ræ'dɪkiəʊlrə'di:-/ n [C] a variety of CHICORY
with red leaves, usually eaten in a mixture of raw vegetables.
Radicchio is expensive and has become fashionable in
Britain and the US.
rad·i·i /reɪdiaɪ/ pl. of RADIUS
ra·di·o¹ /'reɪdiəʊ/ n pl. -os 1 [C] an apparatus for receiving
sounds broadcast through the air by means of electrical
waves: to turn/switch the radio on/off | a transistor
radio 2 [U] the sending or receiving of sounds through the
air by electrical waves: Air traffic controllers were in radio
contact with the aircraft. | a radio signal 3 [U] the radio
broadcasting industry: a radio producer | a local radio sta-
tion 4 on the radio broadcast or broadcasting by radio: I
heard it on the radio. | John was on the radio again today. →
see also AM, FM
radio² v -oed, -oing 1 [I;T] to send (a message) through the
air by means of electrical waves: The ship radioed for help. |
We must radio the message at once. 2 [T] to send a message
to (a place or person) in this way: They radioed London for
permission to land.
radio- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
Radio 1 /,reɪdiəʊ 'wʌn/ a BBC radio station which broadcasts
mostly POP³ music and is listened to mostly by young
people
Radio 2 /,reɪdiəʊ 'tu:/ a BBC radio station which broadcasts
popular music and entertainment programmes. Unlike
Radio 1, Radio 2 does not play the most recent music, and it
is listened to especially by older people.
Radio 3 /,reɪdiəʊ 'θri:/ a BBC radio station which broadcasts
mostly CLASSICAL music
Radio 4 /,reɪdiəʊ 'fɔ:/ a BBC radio station which broad-
casts programmes on news and politics, as well as plays and
arts programmes. Radio 4 is thought of as a serious radio
station which is listened to by all types of people.
Radio 5 Live /,reɪdiəʊ faɪv 'laɪv/ a BBC radio station
which broadcasts news and sports programmes 24 hours a
day
ra·di·o·ac·tive /,reɪdiəʊ'æktɪv/ adj possessing or produced
by radioactivity: a highly radioactive material | radioactive
contamination
,radioactive 'dating n [U] AmE CARBON DATING
,radioactive 'waste also radwaste AmE — n [U] the
radioactive BY-PRODUCTS from a NUCLEAR REACTOR which
are difficult to get rid of safely and are usually buried
ra·di·o·ac·tiv·i·ty /,reɪdiəʊæk'tɪvɪti/ n [U] 1 the quality,
harmful to living things, that some simple substances (ELE-
MENTS) have of giving out force (ENERGY) by the breaking up
of atoms 2 the ENERGY given out in this way: Some of the
workers were exposed to radioactivity.
'radio a,larm also clock radio n a clock that can be set to
turn on a radio to wake someone who is asleep → compare
ALARM CLOCK
'radio ,beacon also beacon n a station that sends out radio
signals to help planes to find their way
'radio car n a car fitted with radio for speaking to people
away from the car
ra·di·o·car·bon dat·ing /,reɪdiəʊka:bən 'deɪtɪŋ||-ka:r-/ n
[U] CARBON DATING
,Radio City 'Music Hall a
large theatre in New York
City, where concerts, film
FESTIVALS, the TONY AWARDS
ceremony, and shows with
lots of singing and dancing
take place → see also ROCK-
ETTES
'radio ,frequency n the
FREQUENCY of the radio
waves commonly used in
broadcasting
ra·di·o·gram
/'reɪdiəʊgræm/ n 1 BrE a
piece of furniture, popular
in the past, combining a
radio and a record
player 2 a message that has
been radioed
ra·di·og·ra·pher /,reɪdi'ɒgrəfə||-'ɑ:g-/ n a person who
makes or studies X-RAY photographs, especially of people's
bodies, or who treats illnesses with X-rays
ra·di·og·ra·phy /,reɪdi'grəfi||-'ɑ:g-/ n [U] the taking of
photographs made with short waves (X-RAYS), usually for
medical reasons
Ra·di·o·head /'reɪdiəʊhed/ a British ROCK group that first
became popular in the early 1990s with the song Creep. They
have had a great influence on modern British popular music,
and their albums include OK Computer and Kid A.
ra·di·ol·o·gy /,reɪdi'lədʒi||-'ɑ:-/ n [U] the study and medi-
cal use of RADIOACTIVITY —gist n
,radio 'telescope n a radio receiver used for following the
movements of the stars and of spacecraft
ra·di·o·ther·a·py /,reɪdiəʊ'θerəpi/ n [U] the treatment of
illnesses by RADIOACTIVITY —pist n
,Radio 'Times, The a British weekly magazine that gives
the times and details of television and radio programmes, as
well as articles about programmes, actors etc → see also TV
GUIDE, TV TIMES
rad·ish /'rædɪʃ/ n a small vegetable whose red or white
sometimes hot-tasting root is eaten raw: a bunch of radishes
ra·di·um /'reɪdiəm/ n [U] a rare shining white metal that is a
simple substance (ELEMENT), is RADIOACTIVE, and is used in
the treatment of certain illnesses, especially CANCER
ra·di·us /'reɪdiəs/ n pl. -dii /diaɪ/ 1 (the length of) a straight
line going from the side of a circle to the centre → compare
DIAMETER; see picture at DIAMETER 2 a stated circular area
measured from its centre point: This tax affects every house-
hold within a ten-mile radius of the town. 3 the outer bone
of the lower arm
Rad·ley, Boo /'rædli/ a character in the book To Kill a
Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee. He is locked in the house
by his father as a punishment, and is never allowed out.
Because the people in the town never see him, they believe
many strange stories about him, and think that he comes
out at night to hunt and eat SQUIRRELS.
ra·don /'reɪdɒn||-dɑ:n/ n [U] tech a RADIOACTIVE gas, usually
harmless but harmful in large amounts. Sometimes the gas
will get into houses, where it is thought to cause health
problems.
rad·waste /'rædweɪst/ n [U] AmE for RADIOACTIVE WASTE
Ra·el·is·m /'reɪəlɪzəm/ the belief that creatures from space
created life on Earth. People who believe this belong to the
Raelian Movement, which was started by Claude Vorilhon,
who says he was given the name Rael when the creatures
from space talked to him in 1973.
RAF, the /,ɑ:r er 'ef, ræf/ abbrev. for the Royal Air Force; the
part of the UK's military forces that uses planes: He wants to
join the RAF. | an RAF officer
raf·fi·a /'ræfiə/ n [U] a soft stringlike substance from the leaf
stems of a PALM tree, used for making hats, baskets etc
raf·fish /'ræfɪʃ/ adj usually derog (of a person or his/her behav-
iour or appearance) happy, wild, and not very respectable;
DISREPUTABLE: a raffish young man | raffish parties —ly adv
—ness n [U]
raf·fle¹ /'ræfəl/ n a way of making money, especially for
Radio City Music Hall