Link Centre Dictionary

nuclear

nuc·lear

UK/ˈn(j)u.kli.ɚ/ US/ˈnjuː.klɪə(ɹ)/ common

adjective

1.

(weapons) deriving destructive energy from the release of atomic energy

  • “nuclear war”
  • “nuclear weapons”
  • “atomic bombs”
Synonyms
Antonyms
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2.

of or relating to or constituting the nucleus of an atom

  • “nuclear physics”
  • “nuclear fission”
  • “nuclear forces”
3.

of or relating to or constituting the nucleus of an atom

  • “nuclear physics”
  • “nuclear fission”
  • “nuclear forces”
4.

constituting or like a nucleus

  • “annexation of the suburban fringe by the nuclear metropolis”
  • “the nuclear core of the congregation”
Similar

Origin

From Latin nū̆cleus, a contraction of the adjective nuculeus, masculine of feminine nuculea (“pertaining to a small nut”) from nucula + adjectival suffix -eus, -ea, -eum. The Latin nucula + -āris adds up to nuculāris, a term that in English becomes nucular; the Latin nuculea + -āris, becomes Latin nuculeāris (“relative to what pertains to small nut”), later contracted into nuclear. By surface analysis, nucleus + -ar. Compare muscle and Latin mūsculus; muscular and mūsculāris.

Phrases

  • anti-nuclear antibody
  • anti-nuclear factor
  • burning nuclear plasma
  • effective nuclear charge
  • go nuclear
  • nuclear age
  • nuclear airburst
  • nuclear aircraft

Related words

Word family

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.