For years it's bothered me that so many people use the word reactionary incorrectly. It did surprise me, however, when I saw it misused in the article "Put a Spell on You" (May 13). It states, "...Ginger, not pleased by what she perceives to be a small group of men laughing at her, is spewing a reactionary flow of clever and scalpel-sharp obscenities...." The proper word would have been reactive, which means showing a response to a stimulus. The word reactionary means opposing political or social liberalization or reform. An example would be: A reactionary person does not support gay marriage being legal.

Don Presley

New London