fissile
Americanadjective
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capable of being split or divided; cleavable.
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Physics.
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(of a nuclide) capable of undergoing fission induced by low-energy neutrons, as uranium 233 and 235.
adjective
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capable of undergoing nuclear fission as a result of the impact of slow neutrons
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another word for fissionable
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tending to split or capable of being split
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fissile
1655–65; < Latin fissilis, equivalent to fiss ( us ) ( see fissi-) + -ilis -ile
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the fissile material required to build nuclear weapons remains in the country, under the watch of U.S. satellite surveillance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Both Leavitt and Hegseth, however, mentioned that the United States wants to ensure Iran does not have stockpiles of enriched uranium, the fissile material that is key in developing nuclear weapons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1996 allows activities to assure the safety and reliability of nuclear weapons, including experiments involving fissile material, as long as they don’t result in a nuclear-explosive yield.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
Its magic trick is that 0.7% of the element found in nature is fissile.
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
From the slugs of irradiated uranium, fissile plutonium would be extracted at a second plant ten miles away, eventually to be sent on its way to Los Alamos.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
