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Glite Dictionary
nuclear deterrence

nuclear deterrence

1 5.8
A military plan to stop another country from using nuclear weapons by threatening to hit back with your own
  • noun
  • /ˈnjuːklɪər dɪˈtɜːrəns/
  • Specialized
translation icon : disuasión nuclear
  • The concept of nuclear deterrence relies on the ability to retaliate effectively against any nuclear attack.
  • nuclear deterrence policy
  • logic of nuclear deterrence
  • support for nuclear deterrence

But that wasn't the magic of nuclear deterrence that prevented war.

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Examples

  • On the one hand, arms controllers insist that the MAD doctrine is the basis for robust nuclear deterrence.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Finally, Reagan reassured European leaders that America's nuclear deterrence policy was realistic and firm.

    Academic text (1990)

  • France stands out as the Western country with the strongest public consensus in support of nuclear deterrence.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Mutual nuclear deterrence evolved from the abilities of both sides to wait out a possible attack.

    Academic text (1991)

  • However, mass public acceptance of nuclear deterrence policies does not seem to have eroded significantly, except in West Germany.

    Academic text (1990)

  • In the age of nuclear deterrence, great-power war is, thankfully, no longer a mechanism of historical change.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The United States can now limit its contribution to strategic nuclear deterrence, air support, and offshore naval balancing in the region.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Nuclear deterrence depends on states acting rationally and predicting the behavior of a nuclear-armed adversary.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Many countries maintain nuclear deterrence to discourage adversaries from initiating conflicts.

  • During discussions on foreign policy, experts emphasized the importance of nuclear deterrence in maintaining global stability.

Surface Forms

nuclear deterrence singular
nuclear deterrences plural

Morphology

nuclear + deterrence

Both constituents are semantically transparent: 'nuclear' specifies the means (relating to atomic weapons) and 'deterrence' denotes discouraging action by threats or consequences. A learner who knows these words can infer this refers to preventing attacks via the threat of nuclear retaliation, and the compositional logic is cross-linguistically common.

Etymology

Nuclear deterrence comes from a simple image: a country keeps very powerful nuclear weapons and makes it clear it can 'hit back' if attacked. That warning, the idea of deterrence, makes enemies think twice, so the phrase means 'to stop an attack by threatening a strong nuclear response'.