nuclear option
8
6.3
- noun
- /ˈnjuːklɪər ˈɒpʃən/
- Literature
:
opción nuclear
- If North Korea's nuclear ambitions could not be tamed, Clinton feared that South Korea and Japan might be likely to take the nuclear option in defense of their national security.
- pursue a nuclear option
And I decided to use the nuclear option.
- And I decided to use the nuclear option.
- But anyway, a nuclear option allows Chuck Schumer to change the rules.
Examples
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Of course, Clinton's approach ran headlong into India's core national security concerns: territorial integrity and preserving its nuclear option.
Academic text (2006) -
Critics of the North Korean regime maintain the HEU program is proof of the regime's intention to keep a nuclear option and its willingness to break international agreements.
Academic text (2003) -
Look, with the nuclear option still in play, I don't want to be out of contact with him for too long.
-
Now, why don't you consider why a nuclear option was required in the first place?
Blog text (27) -
But invoking what some call the "nuclear option" is only going to be so effective.
Blog text (23) -
Let them unleash the nuclear option.
Blog text (12) -
Granted, but even that doesn't leave us with just the nuclear option.
-
But anyway, a nuclear option allows Chuck Schumer to change the rules.
-
Finally, Israel also has a well-developed nuclear option, buttressing its image as a powerful state.
Academic text (2013) -
The government had to resort to the nuclear option after negotiations with the opposition failed completely.
Synonyms
69
3.5
A final thing you try when all other options have failed
14
5.7
An extreme action you take when all other options fail
A decision made at the very last moment as a desperate effort
Antonyms
How Extreme
- Literature
8
6.3
1
4.8
- Formal
823
3.8
∞
2.2
759
1.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning arises from a metaphorical extension of 'nuclear' (powerful/drastic) combined with 'option' (a choice), so learners can plausibly infer 'an extreme or last-resort choice' from the parts. However, the specialized political/technical sense and the metaphorical shift from literal 'nucleus' or 'radiation' are not fully predictable for a B1 learner, making it only partially transparent.
Etymology
Nuclear option comes from the image of using a nuclear bomb as the final option, the most extreme and damaging choice you can make. That's why it now means 'an extreme or last-resort action'.