fissile

[fis-uh l]

adjective

capable of being split or divided; cleavable.
Physics.
1. fissionable.
2. (of a nuclide) capable of undergoing fission induced by low-energy neutrons, as uranium 233 and 235.

Origin of fissile

1655–65; < Latin fissilis, equivalent to fiss(us) (see fissi-) + -ilis -ile

Related formsfis·sil·i·ty, nounnon·fis·sile, adjectivenon·fis·sil·i·ty, nounun·fis·sile, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fissile

Contemporary Examples of fissile

North Korea claims to have converted the fissile material into nuclear weapons.
How Close Is North Korea to a Nuclear Missile?
Naoko Aoki
March 26, 2012

Historical Examples of fissile

It appears to us from its use to have been either a quartzite or a fissile limestone.
De Re Metallica
Georgius Agricola
This mineral is fissile, and moderately hard, which renders it fit for their peculiar ripe sculptures.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
A fissile texture is occasionally assumed by clinkstone and other trap rocks, so that they have been used for roofing houses.
A Manual of Elementary Geology
Charles Lyell.
Fissile, fis′il, adj. that may be cleft or split in the direction of the grain.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various
Mould, the earth of vegetables, is hardened into fissile slate, which being impregnated with bitumen becomes coal.
Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnus
William MacGillivray

British Dictionary definitions for fissile

fissile

adjective

British capable of undergoing nuclear fission as a result of the impact of slow neutrons
US and Canadian another word for fissionable
tending to split or capable of being split

Derived Formsfissility (fɪˈsɪlɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for fissile

C17: from Latin fissilis, from fissus split; see fissi-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fissile

adj.

1660s, from Latin fissilis "that which may be cleft or split," from fissus, past participle of findere (see fissure).