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nuclear

nuclear

43 4.9
In the central part of something that is most important
  • adjective
  • /ˈnjuːklɪər/
translation icon : nuclear
  • In fact, in this school, it's the nuclear families who are unusual.
  • nuclear family
  • nuclear household
  • nuclear and extended family

So I was brought up in a fundamentalist Christian extended family, not just the nuclear family, extended family.

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Examples

  • In addition, nuclear family members were more likely than extended family to be informed.

    Academic text (2008)
  • No, the nuclear family is the basis of human life, the bond between parent and child...

  • These are the people that were sort of the nuclear core of helping me make this show.

  • Children were raised in communities, without the nuclear family structure that is so popular here.

  • Welcome to my nuclear family.

  • The magazine states that the nuclear family, the legal family, is the sound basis of the legal state.

    Academic text (1990)
  • But today, this "isolated" nuclear family itself is splitting apart.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Family functioning describes how OBPI affected the nuclear and extended family.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Enjoy your nuclear family.

  • Growing up in a nuclear family with both parents provided me with a strong support system.

Synonyms

nucleate
vsnuclear
  • Specialized
8.2

Having a central part inside a cell that holds the cell's information

is used for the central or most important part in general, not physical cores
nucleated
vsnuclear
  • Specialized
7.4

Being in or having the small center inside a cell that controls cell activity

is about relating to the central or most important part generally rather than internal location
intranuclear
vsnuclear
  • Specialized
8.5

Inside an atom's center where protons and neutrons are

is used for central or most important parts in general, not the atom core

Compounds

634 3.5

A very powerful bomb that uses energy from splitting or joining atoms

nuclear power
  • Specialized
119 3.4

Electricity made by using the energy inside atoms for homes and businesses

nuclear reactor
  • Specialized
42 4.8

A machine that makes heat and electricity by splitting atoms in a controlled way

35 5.0

A part of a missile or bomb that contains a nuclear bomb

nuclear energy
  • Specialized
27 3.7

Power made when atoms are split or joined, used for electricity and sometimes weapons

nuclear facility
  • Specialized
24 4.5

A place that uses energy from atoms to make electricity or do research

nuclear fuel
  • Specialized
17 4.6

A material like uranium or plutonium used to make energy in a nuclear reactor

A family with just parents and their children

nuclear submarine
  • Specialized
9 3.6

A military submarine that runs on nuclear power and can stay underwater for months

A very large explosion caused by a nuclear reaction, like an atomic bomb

nuclear option
  • Literature
8 6.3

An extreme action taken only when nothing else will work

A United States government agency that licenses and checks safety at nuclear power plants

nuclear physicist
  • Specialized
7 4.8

A scientist who studies the centre of atoms and how they release energy

nuclear physics
  • Specialized
6 4.0

The study of the center of an atom and its parts, like protons and neutrons

nuclear meltdown
  • Specialized
5 7.2

A very dangerous accident in a nuclear power plant when the reactor gets too hot and releases radiation

nuclear fission
  • Specialized
4 4.9

The center of a heavy atom splits into smaller parts and releases energy

nuclear reaction
  • Specialized
4 4.4

A change inside an atom's core that makes or uses a large amount of energy

4 7.5

A long cold and dark time worldwide after many large bombs make dust and smoke that block the sun

nuclear fusion
  • Specialized
4 4.2

A process where two small parts inside atoms join and give off energy

3 4.1

A group of companies that make electricity using energy from atoms

3 8.6

Using a nuclear bomb or radioactive material to kill many people and scare others

nuclear club
  • Literature
2 5.2

A group of countries that have nuclear weapons

nuclear deterrence
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A military plan to stop another country from using nuclear weapons by threatening to hit back with your own

1 6.8

A method that uses strong magnets and radio waves to make images or study molecules

nuclear medicine
  • Specialized
1 3.7

Doctors use small amounts of radioactive material to find and treat illness

1 4.9

A military ship that uses nuclear power to stay underwater for long periods

nuclear engineering
  • Specialized
1 4.7

The study and work of designing and running machines that make energy from atoms

nuclear rocket
  • Specialized
1 6.9

An engine that uses heat from splitting atoms to push a spaceship into space

nuclear-powered ship
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A ship that uses a nuclear reactor for power

nuclear cataract
  • Specialized
5.7

A cloudy area in the middle of the eye's lens that makes vision blurry

4.4

A process where two atoms combine to make a heavier atom and give off energy

nuclear chemist
  • Specialized
5.9

A scientist who studies chemical reactions in radioactive materials

nuclear chemistry
  • Specialized
3.8

The study of radioactive materials and reactions in atomic nuclei

nuclear resonance
  • Specialized
7.8

A nucleus absorbs a gamma ray it made earlier

nuclear RNA
  • Specialized
5.8

RNA that is inside a cell's nucleus, often in the nucleolus

nuclear propulsion
  • Specialized
6.1

A system that uses a nuclear reactor to power and move ships or spacecraft

7.5

To move a cell's nucleus and DNA into another cell for cloning or research

A method of putting the nucleus from a body cell into an egg cell whose nucleus has been removed

A lab method for making clones by moving a body cell's center into an egg cell without one

How Central

core
468 3.2
nuclear
43 4.9
central
993 1.0
marginal
11 4.7
peripheral
27 6.5

Surface Forms

nuclear positive

Morphology

nuclear = nucleus (semi-transparent) = nucleus + ar

The adjective is formed from 'nucleus' but used metaphorically to mean 'central' or 'core' (e.g., 'nuclear family'), so the relation is clear but figurative.

Etymology

Nuclear comes from the Latin word nucleus, meaning 'little nut' or 'kernel', which gives the image of a central core. So calling something nuclear means it is the central or most important part of a group, place, or system.