nuclear

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English

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Etymology

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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, nucle(us) +‎ -ar = nucle- +‎ -ar. Compare muscle and Latin mūsculus; muscular and mūsculāris.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nuclear (not comparable)

  1. Pertaining to the nucleus of an atom. [from 20th c.]
  2. Involving energy released by nuclear reactions (fission, fusion, radioactive decay). [from 20th c.]
    a nuclear reactor
    nuclear technology
  3. Relating to a weapon that derives its force from rapid release of energy through nuclear reactions. [from 20th c.]
    a nuclear explosion
    a nuclear power
  4. (by extension, figurative, of a solution or response) Involving an extreme course of action, or one with severe consequences.
    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 February 3, Elle Hunt, “When is it appropriate to reply all? Mostly never”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      We’ve now had 20 years of cautionary tales about replyallpocalypses. For the sake of workplace harmony: keep your pointer off the nuclear button.
    • 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.
  5. (biology) Pertaining to the nucleus of a cell. [from 19th c.]
    • 2011, Terence Allen, 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.
  6. (archaic) Pertaining to a centre around which something is developed or organised; central, pivotal. [from 19th c.]
    Nuclear Polynesian languages include Hawaiian and Samoan.
  7. Relating to, being of, or comprising the nuclear family.
    • 1986 December 7, Michael Bronsky, “Gay Man's Dream Realized in Benefit Production of archy and mehitabel"”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 21, page 7:
      Somehow it is much easier to convey the emotions of gayness — the feelings of outsideness —through anthropomorphism. Gay poet and limerist Edward lear uses animals and creatures perfectly this way […] Even the Muppets — as mainstream and heterosexual as some of them may be — are favorites among many gay men […] Look at Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, such a silly, pompous queen, and even Randall Jarrell's The Animal Family has a lot to say about non-human and non-nuclear arrangements.

Usage notes

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Noun

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nuclear (countable and uncountable, plural nuclears)

  1. 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.
  2. Nuclear weapon
    • 1958, Foreign Relations of the United States (page 118):
      Admiral Burke believed that we would be able to beat off an amphibious attack, even if staged in conjunction with heavy aerial bombing, long enough to refer back to Washington and obtain authorization to use nuclears.

Anagrams

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Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nuclear m or f (masculine and feminine plural nuclears)

  1. nuclear

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Galician

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /nukleˈaɾ/ [nu.kleˈaɾ]
  • Rhymes: -aɾ
  • Hyphenation: nu‧cle‧ar

Adjective

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nuclear m or f (plural nucleares)

  1. nuclear

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Occitan

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Pronunciation

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This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Adjective

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nuclear m (feminine singular nucleara, masculine plural nuclears, feminine plural nuclearas)

  1. nuclear

Piedmontese

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nuclear

  1. nuclear

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /nu.kleˈaʁ/ [nu.kleˈah], /nu.kliˈaʁ/ [nu.klɪˈah], (faster pronunciation) /nuˈkljaʁ/ [nuˈkljah]
    • (São Paulo) IPA(key): /nu.kleˈaɾ/, /nu.kliˈaɾ/ [nu.klɪˈaɾ], (faster pronunciation) /nuˈkljaɾ/
    • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /nu.kleˈaʁ/ [nu.kleˈaχ], /nu.kliˈaʁ/ [nu.klɪˈaχ], (faster pronunciation) /nuˈkljaʁ/ [nuˈkljaχ]
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /nu.kleˈaɻ/
 
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /nu.kliˈaɾ/, (faster pronunciation) /nuˈkljaɾ/
    • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /nu.kliˈa.ɾi/, (faster pronunciation) /nuˈklja.ɾi/

  • Hyphenation: nu‧cle‧ar

Adjective

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nuclear m or f (plural nucleares)

  1. nuclear; central (to a centre around which something is developed or organised)
  2. (biology) nuclear (relating to the nucleus of cells)
  3. (physics) nuclear (relating to the nucleus of atoms)
  4. nuclear (involving atomic energy or weapons)

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French nucléaire. By surface analysis, nucleu +‎ -ar.

Adjective

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nuclear m or n (feminine singular nucleară, masculine plural nucleari, feminine and neuter plural nucleare)

  1. nuclear

Declension

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singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite nuclear nucleară nucleari nucleare
definite nuclearul nucleara nuclearii nuclearele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite nuclear nucleare nucleari nucleare
definite nuclearului nuclearei nuclearilor nuclearelor

Spanish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /nukleˈaɾ/ [nu.kleˈaɾ]
  • Rhymes: -aɾ
  • Syllabification: nu‧cle‧ar

Etymology 1

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From nucleo +‎ -ar, ultimately from Latin nuculeus.

Adjective

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nuclear m or f (masculine and feminine plural nucleares)

  1. nuclear
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Latin nū̆cleāre?”

Verb

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nuclear (first-person singular present nucleo, first-person singular preterite nucleé, past participle nucleado)

  1. to join up; to unite
Conjugation
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    Conjugation of nuclear (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)
infinitive nuclear
gerund nucleando
past participle masculine feminine
singular nucleado nucleada
plural nucleados nucleadas
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
indicative yo tú
vos 		él/ella/ello
usted 		nosotros
nosotras 		vosotros
vosotras 		ellos/ellas
ustedes
present nucleo nucleastú
nucleásvos 		nuclea nucleamos nucleáis nuclean
imperfect nucleaba nucleabas nucleaba nucleábamos nucleabais nucleaban
preterite nucleé nucleaste nucleó nucleamos nucleasteis nuclearon
future nuclearé nuclearás nucleará nuclearemos nuclearéis nuclearán
conditional nuclearía nuclearías nuclearía nuclearíamos nuclearíais nuclearían
subjunctive yo tú
vos 		él/ella/ello
usted 		nosotros
nosotras 		vosotros
vosotras 		ellos/ellas
ustedes
present nuclee nucleestú
nucleésvos2 		nuclee nucleemos nucleéis nucleen
imperfect
(ra) 		nucleara nuclearas nucleara nucleáramos nuclearais nuclearan
imperfect
(se) 		nuclease nucleases nuclease nucleásemos nucleaseis nucleasen
future1 nucleare nucleares nucleare nucleáremos nucleareis nuclearen
imperative — tú
vos 		usted nosotros
nosotras 		vosotros
vosotras 		ustedes
affirmative nucleatú
nucleávos 		nuclee nucleemos nuclead nucleen
negative no nuclees no nuclee no nucleemos no nucleéis no nucleen

1Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
2Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of nuclear

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
with infinitive nuclear
dative nuclearme nuclearte nuclearle, nuclearse nuclearnos nuclearos nuclearles, nuclearse
accusative nuclearme nuclearte nuclearlo, nuclearla, nuclearse nuclearnos nuclearos nuclearlos, nuclearlas, nuclearse
with gerund nucleando
dative nucleándome nucleándote nucleándole, nucleándose nucleándonos nucleándoos nucleándoles, nucleándose
accusative nucleándome nucleándote nucleándolo, nucleándola, nucleándose nucleándonos nucleándoos nucleándolos, nucleándolas, nucleándose
with informal second-person singular tú imperative nuclea
dative nucléame nucléate nucléale nucléanos not used nucléales
accusative nucléame nucléate nucléalo, nucléala nucléanos not used nucléalos, nucléalas
with informal second-person singular vos imperative nucleá
dative nucleame nucleate nucleale nucleanos not used nucleales
accusative nucleame nucleate nuclealo, nucleala nucleanos not used nuclealos, nuclealas
with formal second-person singular imperative nuclee
dative nucléeme not used nucléele, nucléese nucléenos not used nucléeles
accusative nucléeme not used nucléelo, nucléela, nucléese nucléenos not used nucléelos, nucléelas
with first-person plural imperative nucleemos
dative not used nucleémoste nucleémosle nucleémonos nucleémoos nucleémosles
accusative not used nucleémoste nucleémoslo, nucleémosla nucleémonos nucleémoos nucleémoslos, nucleémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative nuclead
dative nucleadme not used nucleadle nucleadnos nucleaos nucleadles
accusative nucleadme not used nucleadlo, nucleadla nucleadnos nucleaos nucleadlos, nucleadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative nucleen
dative nucléenme not used nucléenle nucléennos not used nucléenles, nucléense
accusative nucléenme not used nucléenlo, nucléenla nucléennos not used nucléenlos, nucléenlas, nucléense
Derived terms
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Further reading

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  • “nuclear”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28
  • Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN

Anagrams

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