nuclear
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Deriving destructive energy from the release of atomic energy.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nookleeerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnukliɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Involving energy released by nuclear reactions (fission, fusion, radioactive decay).
Relating to a weapon that derives its force from rapid release of energy through nuclear reactions.
weapons
Deriving destructive energy from the release of atomic energy
Of or relating to or constituting the nucleus of an atom
Pertaining to the nucleus of an atom.
by extensionfigurativeof a solution or response
Involving an extreme course of action, or one with severe consequences.
noun
Nuclear power.
Nuclear weapon
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Involving energy released by nuclear reactions (fission, fusion, radioactive decay).
Used this way, nuclear is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use nuclear
- “Many scientists study nuclear energy for future power sources.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A cataract that affects the nucleus of the lens.
A chemist who specializes in nuclear chemistry.
The chemistry of radioactive substances.
The nations possessing nuclear weapons.
The military doctrine that an enemy will be deterred from using nuclear weapons as long as he can be destroyed as a consequence.
The energy released by a nuclear reaction.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: involving energy released by nuclear reactions (fission or fusion
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.