Definition

Excellent, impressive, or awesome; used as a strong term of approval. Often associated with 1980s-90s youth culture and surf/skate communities.

Example Usage

That kickflip was radical, dude!

Origin

From the literal sense of 'going to the root' or 'extreme,' adopted by counterculture and youth movements to mean 'far out' or 'excellent.'

Fun Fact

Popularized by teenage mutant ninja turtles catchphrase 'Cowabunga!' and 80s California surf culture.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

Related Terms

Beginner

flippin

When someone's acting completely unhinged, irrational, or off-the-rails in their behavior. It's the PG-rated way of saying someone's lost their grip on reality and is now freewheeling through Crazytown. Usually deployed when someone's overreacting to a situation that doesn't warrant such theatrical drama.

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rng

random number generator

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bons

"Snob" spelled backwards for that extra layer of middle school cleverness your insults were missing. Because sometimes regular words aren't secretive enough for talking about the popular kids. Peak early-2000s coded language energy.

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AYFT

Co-workers, friends, and family members who need a moment of your time may use AYFT to mean "are you free today?" For example, a co-worker who wants to meet in person may send a message that says "AYFT to meet? How does 2:30 in conference room A sound?"

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ejog

A group chat competition where players try to tease each other relentlessly without breaking composure or engaging in certain behaviors, with the last person standing being crowned the unflappable champion of restraint.

📱 Gen-Z / Internet Slang
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IVF

A health acronym that refers to the fertilization process when an egg is fertilized by sperm outside of the body; involves the removal of a woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilize them in a laboratory; the egg is cultured for 2 to 6 days and then implanted into a woman's uterus, with the intention of producing a pregnancy.

📱 Gen-Z / Internet Slang

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See “radical” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

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