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unreconstructed

unreconstructed

2 9.5
Still holding old beliefs and unwilling to change
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnrɪkənˈstrʌktɪd/
translation icon : intransigente
  • Despite the changing times, he remains an unreconstructed traditionalist, insisting that the old ways are the best.

Examples

  • In any case, the politics of knowledge that is based principally on the affirmation of identity is very similar, and is indeed directly related to the unreconstructed nationalism that has guided so many postcolonial states today.

    Academic text (1991)
  • While reading O'Hara more systematically, I remained an unreconstructed devotee.

    Academic text (1997)
  • And Amanda was the only other unreconstructed human aboard.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Life in death: it was so primitive, so unreconstructed, so strangely powerful now that Tony saw it out of context.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • So long as unreconstructed communists ruled in Moscow, the Soviet Union represented a unique threat to American security.

    Academic text (2001)
  • I guess this is a matter of temperament, or maybe an unreconstructed '60s mindset.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Behavioral science is as critical of scientifically unreconstructed political opinion today as modern natural science was of scholasticism.

    Academic text (1995)
  • I should probably further confess, and so date myself, that I am an unreconstructed educational liberal of the Dewey-Piaget-Bruner persuasion.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Yet Singapore remains an unapologetic and unreconstructed one-party state, replete with secret police, press censorship, and thorough suppression of dissidence.

    Academic text (1992)
  • The most conservative contender except George Wallace, Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976 because liberals were divided between chastened cold warriors, led primarily by Representative Morris Udall, and unreconstructed cold warriors, led primarily by Senator Jackson.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

stubborn
vsunreconstructed
217 2.9

Not willing to change your mind even when others try to persuade you

adds a specific sense of clinging to outdated beliefs rather than general stubbornness
opinionated
vsunreconstructed
30 5.5

Showing strong ideas and not willing to listen to others

is centred on outdated beliefs specifically, not just strong personal views
narrow-minded
vsunreconstructed
25 5.1

Not willing to accept ideas or ways different from their own

focuses on holding old beliefs rather than on intolerance alone
die-hard
vsunreconstructed
22 7.9

Very unwilling to accept change or new ideas

shares strong resistance but specifically for beliefs seen as old or outdated
unrepentant
vsunreconstructed
18 7.5

Not feeling sorry for something and not wanting to change

focuses on preserving outdated views rather than only lacking remorse
obstinate
vsunreconstructed
16 7.5

Refusing to change your opinion or behavior even when others try to persuade you

focuses on old-fashioned beliefs and unwillingness to update them
inflexible
vsunreconstructed
11 4.7

Not willing to change or accept other ideas

emphasises outdated beliefs rather than general inability to adapt
closed-minded
vsunreconstructed
9 5.2

Not willing to accept new ideas or different opinions

keeps outdated attitudes specifically rather than general refusal to listen
traditionalist
vsunreconstructed
6 6.5

Holding strongly to old customs and resisting change

is about outdated beliefs broadly, not only cultural traditions
unsympathetic
vsunreconstructed
5 6.3

Not willing to accept new ideas or change

focuses on preserving old attitudes instead of mere lack of receptivity
set in one's ways
vsunreconstructed
  • Informal
4 7.2

Not willing to change habits or the way they do things

highlights old-fashioned attitudes and refusal to modernize rather than routine habits
obdurate
vsunreconstructed
3 8.8

A person who refuses to change their opinion or behaviour even when others try to persuade them

holds outdated attitudes and resists change rather than merely resisting persuasion
hidebound
vsunreconstructed
  • Offensive
3 9.9

Not willing to accept new ideas because of old traditions

keeps old attitudes but with broader social resistance rather than mere tradition
unregenerate
vsunreconstructed
1 9.9

Refusing to change beliefs or show regret, even when wrong

centres on keeping old attitudes rather than the absence of remorse alone
stiff-necked
vsunreconstructed
1 8.1

Not willing to change your mind or actions

is tied to preserving old attitudes rather than a merely rigid stance
archconservative
vsunreconstructed
1 8.4

Very traditional in politics and strongly against change

applies to outdated attitudes generally, not only extreme political positions
unreceptive
vsunreconstructed
1 6.3

Not willing to listen to or accept new ideas

is about sticking to old beliefs rather than only failing to listen
nonprogressive
vsunreconstructed
1 8.0

Old-fashioned and not open to change

stresses holding outmoded attitudes rather than general lack of progress
unswayable
vsunreconstructed
8.7

A person who does not change their opinion when others try to persuade them

is about holding old attitudes specifically rather than simple unwillingness to change
unprogressive
vsunreconstructed
7.7

Not willing to accept new ideas and slow to change

emphasises preserved outdated beliefs rather than merely appearing unfashionable
as stubborn as an anvil
vsunreconstructed
  • Informal
9.2

Refusing to change an opinion even when people give reasons

matches intense resistance but emphasises maintaining old beliefs rather than just intensity
unstirring
vsunreconstructed
7.2

Being steady and not changing in feeling or opinion

keeps outdated attitudes rather than mere steadiness or lack of motion
unadaptive
vsunreconstructed
7.8

Not able to change when facing new conditions

concerns unwillingness to keep old beliefs rather than incapacity to adjust

Antonyms

251 4.8

Supporting new social changes in politics to make society fairer

A person who has changed their beliefs and actions because of new social, political, or economic ideas

How Conservative

reactionary
8 8.6
unreconstructed
2 9.5
conservative
306 4.4
traditional
994 1.5
tolerant
72 3.2
open-minded
80 3.7

Surface Forms

unreconstructed positive

Morphology

unreconstructed = reconstructed (semi-transparent) = un + reconstruct + ed

The prefix 'un-' negates the adjective 'reconstructed', but the specific sense of 'unreconstructed' as holding outdated beliefs is not fully transparent.

Etymology

The word unreconstructed is built from un- 'not', plus re- 'again' and construct 'build'. It was once used for people who refused the big changes after a war, so today it means someone who keeps old beliefs and will not change.