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to denuclearize

to denuclearize

7 7.5
To remove nuclear weapons from a country or area
  • verb
  • /ˌdiːˈnjuːkləraɪz/
  • Formal
: desnuclearizar
  • The treaty aims to ensure that all parties agree to denuclearize and eliminate their stockpiles of nuclear arms.
  • denuclearize North Korea
  • denuclearize the peninsula
  • pledge to denuclearize

Examples

  • The six-party talks and U.S.-North Korean bilateral negotiations have yielded a number of declarations and agreements, but there is still a long way to go before North Korea is fully denuclearized.

    Academic text (2008)
  • To be clear: the United States must not consider making do with a nuclear North Korea; instead, it must pursue a tough carrot-and-stick approach—engagement and containment—to completely denuclearize North Korea.

    Academic text (2008)
  • As the alliance denuclearizes, it necessarily becomes less and less American as well.

    Academic text (1991)
  • One example is the two-decade-old proposal to denuclearize the Middle East under U.N. direction and supervision, where the idea of a "nuclear weapons free zone" was thought to be used more effectively within the context of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Three former Soviet republics (Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan) agreed to denuclearize and acceded to the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

    Academic text (2000)
  • "If you want a guarantee of peace," he reportedly told Weymouth, "there are three ways: (1) denuclearize South Asia; (2) ensure a conventional deterrence so that war never takes place in the subcontinent; and (3) find a solution to the Kashmir problem." (n11)

    Academic text (2003)
  • The international community is advocating for nations to denuclearize in order to promote global peace.

  • Efforts to denuclearize the region have been ongoing for several years, focusing on reducing nuclear weapons.

Surface Forms

denuclearize infinitive
denuclearized past participle
denuclearizing present participle
denuclearizes third person singular

Morphology

denuclearize = nuclearize (transparent) = de + nuclear + ize

The meaning is a regular reversal or removal reading of 'nuclearize', so learners who know the base can usually infer 'remove nuclear weapons or nuclear status'.

Etymology

Denuclearize breaks into de- meaning 'remove' and nuclear, from nucleus meaning 'core' or 'center'. So, to denuclearize a place is to remove its nuclear weapons or nuclear facilities.