nuclearize

American

[noo-klee-uh-rahyz, nyoo-, -kyuh-luh-] / ˈnu kli əˌraɪz, ˈnju-, -kjə lə- /

especially British, nuclearise

verb (used with object)

nuclearized, nuclearizing

to equip with nuclear weapons; give nuclear capability to.

a fear that armed forces on both sides would become nuclearized.

Pronunciation

See nuclear.

Other Word Forms

nuclearization

noun

Etymology

Origin of nuclearize

First recorded in 1955–60; nuclear + -ize

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:

nuclearize nuclearized

On Tuesday the Post's Robert Costa interviewed Vice President Mike Pence and asked him if they were planning to nuclearize space.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2018

Last week, he effectively admitted that he had broken his promise to China not to nuclearize the Korean peninsula.

From Time Magazine Archive

In a week’s time we will be better able to assess the fallout from the nuclearized process.

From Fox News ● Oct. 5, 2018

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023