radioactive decay
noun
Simple meaning
Any of several processes by which unstable nuclei emit subatomic particles and/or ionizing radiation and disintegrate into one or more other nuclei.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
raydeeohaktihvduhkaySay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹeɪdioʊˈæktɪvdəˈkeɪ
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.
noun
nuclear physics
Any of several processes by which unstable nuclei emit subatomic particles and/or ionizing radiation and disintegrate into one or more other nuclei.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: (nuclear physics) Any of several processes by which unstable nuclei emit subatomic particles and/or ionizing radiation and disintegrate into one or more other nuclei.
Used this way, radioactive decay is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.