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Glite Dictionary
💥 To explode with anger ⚛️ To use nuclear power
to go nuclear

to go nuclear

7 8.3
To become extremely angry and shout or act violently
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡoʊ ˈnjuːklɚ/
  • Informal
: enfurecerse
  • If the Democrats do regain a super-majority, I hope they go nuclear on the Republicans.

Once somebody goes nuclear, everybody's going to react.

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Examples

  • Give regular customer service a chance to fix the problem before you go nuclear.

    Blog text (32)

  • Give regular customer service a chance to fix the problem before you go nuclear on them.

  • And she went nuclear on him.

    Blog text (18)

  • Once somebody goes nuclear, everybody's going to react.

    Danny Jones

  • Here I am going nuclear on GB Messpo at the 2,000 dead in Afghanistan thread.

    Blog text (9)

  • If my dad finds out I snuck out, he'll go nuclear and ground me for weeks.

  • Once somebody goes nuclear, everyone else tends to back off to avoid further conflict.

Synonyms

to erupt
vsto go nuclear
117 4.2

To suddenly start in a strong or violent way, often showing strong feeling

tends to imply a very aggressive personal reaction rather than a general outbreak
to explode
vsto go nuclear
114 3.5

To suddenly show a strong feeling, often anger

leans more toward violent, aggressive reaction rather than mere emotional outburst
to blow up
vsto go nuclear
  • Informal
66 4.7

To suddenly become very angry and lose control

is more about an intense explosive aggression rather than a brief loss of temper
to go berserk
vsto go nuclear
  • Informal
32 7.7

To become very angry and act out of control

focuses on a fierce emotional explosion rather than violent physical acts
to go ballistic
vsto go nuclear
  • Informal
29 7.5

Suddenly become very angry

is similar but emphasizes explosive aggression more than just extreme anger
to throw a tantrum
vsto go nuclear
  • Informal
15 4.4

To show sudden strong anger or upset, often like a child

is a stronger, more aggressive and adult hostile outburst than childish display
to blow a fuse
vsto go nuclear
  • Informal
6 7.4

To suddenly become very angry

focuses more on aggressive, explosive reaction rather than just sudden anger
to combust
vsto go nuclear
2 8.2

To become suddenly very angry and lose control

is more about aggressive, intense retaliation rather than figurative emotional eruption
to run riot
vsto go nuclear
2 5.8

Behave in a wild way without control

more often denotes an immediate aggressive, angry attack rather than general wild behavior
to go on the rampage
vsto go nuclear
  • NSFW
1 7.5

To act violently and destroy things without control

is usually an intense emotional explosion without necessarily causing physical destruction
to go off on one
vsto go nuclear
  • UK
1 9.9

To suddenly get very angry and speak loudly for a long time

is typically an intense, brief aggressive explosion rather than a prolonged complaint
to throw a snit
vsto go nuclear
  • Informal
1 8.7

To suddenly become very angry or upset and act childishly

denotes a much more extreme, aggressive, and explosive reaction by adults
to go shitnuts
vsto go nuclear
  • Offensive
9.9

To suddenly become very angry or upset without control

shows the same extreme anger but without the vulgar tone
to flip the bitch switch
vsto go nuclear
  • Offensive
9.9

To suddenly become very angry and behave in a mean way

tends to mean a more sustained, extreme aggressive eruption rather than brief anger
to blow one's stack
vsto go nuclear
  • Informal
8.6

Suddenly get very angry and show it

is more aggressive and likely to include violent reaction than sudden anger
to blow one's top
vsto go nuclear
  • Informal
8.0

To suddenly become very angry

tends to mean a powerful aggressive response rather than a quick temper loss

Antonyms

to calm down
  • Informal
989 1.4

To become less angry, excited, or upset

to keep it together
  • Informal
32 5.4

To stay calm and control your feelings in a difficult situation

How Angry

to go nuclear
  • Informal
7 8.3
to go ballistic
  • Informal
29 7.5
to fly off
  • Informal
8 5.3
annoyed
143 1.0

Surface Forms

go nuclear infinitive
went nuclear past
gone nuclear past participle
going nuclear present participle
goes nuclear third person singular

Morphology

go + nuclear

The meaning 'to decide to adopt nuclear power' is directly derivable from combining 'go' (come to be in a particular state) with 'nuclear' (relating to atomic energy); the construction 'go + adjective' routinely signals becoming or entering that state. This compositional pattern is common in English (e.g., 'go crazy', 'go public') and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Go nuclear may come from the idea of launching a nuclear bomb, a very powerful and explosive weapon. So when someone goes nuclear in an argument or action, they act with extreme, destructive anger, meaning 'to react with extreme anger or aggression'.