nuclear
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
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. Compare muscle and Latin mūsculus; muscular and mūsculāris.
PronunciationEdit
- (Canada) IPA(key): /ˈn(j)ukliɚ/
Audio (CA) (file) - (UK) IPA(key): /ˈnjuː.klɪə/
Audio (UK) (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ˈn(j)ukliɚ/, /ˈn(j)ukjəlɚ/ (see usage notes)
Audio (US) (file)
AdjectiveEdit
nuclear (not comparable)
- Pertaining to the nucleus of an atom. [from 20th c.]
- Involving energy released by nuclear reactions (fission, fusion, radioactive decay). [from 20th c.]
- a nuclear reactor
- nuclear technology
- Relating to a weapon that derives its force from rapid release of energy through nuclear reactions. [from 20th c.]
- a nuclear explosion
- (by extension, metaphoric, of a solution or response) Involving an extreme course of action.
- nuclear option, nuclear solution
- 2011, Todd Lipscomb, Re-Made in the USA, →ISBN:
- The states begging for aid get turned away; and sharp cuts in government employment, spending, and, eventually, pension payments are the only alternative future, beyond the nuclear solution of defaulting on our debt.
- 2013, Erica Sadun, iOS Auto Layout Demystified, →ISBN, page 150:
- The nuclear approach is the simpler of the two. When two constraints conflict, you can kill one of them.
- 2017 April 6, Mythili Sampathkumar, “Democrats filibuster forces Republicans to use 'nuclear option to confirm Trump's Supreme Court pick”, in The Independent:
- Republicans have taken the historic step of triggering the so-called "nuclear option" to change the rules of the Senate and push through Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, after Democrats blocked the nomination.
- (biology) Pertaining to the nucleus of a cell. [from 19th c.]
- 2011, Terence Allen and Graham Cowling, The Cell: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 17:
- However, the DNA in a bacterial cell is a single circular molecule and there is no separate nuclear compartment.
- (archaic) Pertaining to a centre around which something is developed or organised; central, pivotal. [from 19th c.]
Usage notesEdit
- The pronunciation /nukjəlɚ/, although included by some sources such as Merriam-Webster (Online 10th Edition), is nonstandard and listed as such. See also nucular, and nucular in Wikipedia.
Derived termsEdit
- corticonuclear
- go nuclear
- nuclear age
- nuclear airburst
- nuclear aircraft
- nuclear artillery
- nuclear cataract
- nuclear certifiable
- nuclear certified
- nuclear chain reaction
- nuclear chemistry
- nuclear cytoplasm
- nuclear electric rocket
- nuclear emulsion
- nuclear energy
- nuclear fallout
- nuclear family
- nuclear fission
- nuclear force
- nuclear-free
- nuclear fuel
- nuclear gene
- nuclear halo
- nuclear hardness
- nuclear hazard
- nuclear incident
- nuclear inclusion body
- nuclear intelligence
- nuclear isomer
- nuclear lamina
- nuclear magnetic moment
- nuclear magnetic resonance
- nuclear magneton
- nuclear material
- nuclear matrix
- nuclear nation
- nuclear navy
- nuclear notation
- nuclear operator
- nuclear ophthalmoplegia
- nuclear option
- nuclear Overhauser effect
- nuclear parity
- nuclear photonic rocket
- nuclear physics
- nuclear poison
- nuclear power
- nuclear quadropole resonance
- nuclear radiation
- nuclear reaction
- nuclear reactor
- nuclear sclerosis
- nuclear sharing
- nuclear technology
- nuclear terrorism
- nuclear testing
- nuclear transfer
- nuclear underground burst
- nuclear underwater burst
- nuclear vulnerability assessment
- nuclear war
- nuclear warfare
- nuclear waste
- nuclear weapon
- nuclear winter
- nuclear yield
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
pertaining to the nucleus of a cell
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pertaining to the atomic nucleus
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involving nuclear energy
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of a weapon: deriving its force from nuclear energy
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Further readingEdit
NounEdit
nuclear (uncountable)
- nuclear power
- 2015, Vital Signs Volume 22: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future, The Worldwatch Institute:
- The growth in wind capacity at first lagged behind the expansion of nuclear installations, but then it started to grow faster and is now outpacing nuclear.
AnagramsEdit
CatalanEdit
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
nuclear (masculine and feminine plural nuclears)
Related termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “nuclear” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “nuclear” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
- “nuclear” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “nuclear” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
GalicianEdit
AdjectiveEdit
nuclear m or f (plural nucleares)
Related termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “nuclear” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
OccitanEdit
AdjectiveEdit
nuclear m (feminine singular nucleara, masculine plural nuclears, feminine plural nuclearas)
PortugueseEdit
AdjectiveEdit
nuclear m or f (plural nucleares, comparable)
- nuclear; central (to a centre around which something is developed or organised)
- (biology) nuclear (relating to the nucleus of cells)
- (physics) nuclear (relating to the nucleus of atoms)
- nuclear (involving atomic energy or weapons)
Related termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “nuclear” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
SpanishEdit
Etymology 1Edit
(This etymology is missing. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Latin nū̆cleāris?”)
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
nuclear (plural nucleares)
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
(This etymology is missing. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Latin nū̆cleō?”)
VerbEdit
nuclear (first-person singular present nucleo, first-person singular preterite nucleé, past participle nucleado)
ConjugationEdit
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.
Further readingEdit
- “nuclear” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.