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hibakusha

American  
[hee-buh-koo-shuh, hee-bah-koo-shah] / ˌhi bəˈku ʃə, hiˈbɑ kʊˌʃɑ /

noun

  • hibakushas,
    plural
  • hibakusha
    plural
  1. a survivor of either of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945.


hibakusha British  
/ hɪˈbɑːkʊʃə /

noun

  1. a survivor of either of the atomic-bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of hibakusha

< Japanese, equivalent to hibaku bombed ( hi- suffer + baku- burst open, explode < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese bèi bào ) + -sha person < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese chě


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.

See Examples For:

He is a hibakusha, a Japanese word to describe bomb-affected people.

From BBC ● May 7, 2026

A few years ago, while visiting Hiroshima, Japan, I attended a talk by a well-known peace activist and hibakusha — an atomic bomb survivor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2024

But an equally disturbing and important story should not be forgotten—the fate of the more than 500,000 hibakusha, those Japanese civilians who survived the nuclear bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 6, 2023

Aging survivors, known in Japan as hibakusha, continue to push for a nuclear arms ban and hope to persuade younger generations to join the movement.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2023

Taki Homosoto was now a hibakusha, a survivor of Hiroshima, an embarrassing and dishonorable fact he would desperately try to conceal for the rest of his life.

From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Winn Schwartau

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