massive retaliation
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noun
a strategy of military counterattack that involves the use of nuclear weapons.
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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
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Origin of massive retaliation
An Americanism dating back to 1950–55
Words nearby massive retaliation
Massinger, Massinisa, Massinissa, massive, massive resistance, massive retaliation, mass leave, massless, mass man, mass-market, mass marketing
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for massive retaliation
Cultural definitions for massive retaliation
massive retaliation
The doctrine that the best way to deter aggression is to threaten a potential aggressor with devastation by atomic bombs (see also atomic bomb). See hawks and doves.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.