radioactive
Americanadjective
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Physics, Chemistry. of, relating to, exhibiting, or caused by radioactivity.
A pressing issue in post-Soviet Russia is safe long-term storage of radioactive waste, from both military and civilian applications.
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relating to or being a person, topic, or matter that is likely to provoke intense negative reactions or disagreement.
The option of raising taxes to fund these expenditures is a politically radioactive approach that a majority of state policymakers have avoided.
adjective
Usage
What does radioactive mean? Radioactive describes something that exhibits or is caused by radioactivity. If something is radioactive, it emits radiation, which usually takes the form of electromagnetic waves or fast-moving elementary particles, such as protons or neutrons.While low doses of radiation are usually harmless, being exposed to large amounts of radiation will most likely kill you. For this reason, highly radioactive materials are often considered very dangerous and will only be handled by experts.Example: The radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants can damage the environment.
Other Word Forms
- nonradioactive adjective
- radioactively adverb
- unradioactive adjective
Etymology
Origin of radioactive
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.
People living on a former air base have called for a survey into land beneath their homes as they fear radioactive contamination.
From BBC
Uranium is the primary fuel used in nuclear reactors, but it needs to be enriched by separating the more radioactive particles that create a chain reaction to release energy.
"A neurotoxin, a radioactive substance, or a toxic substance is much more frightening than an explosive or being shot to death."
From Barron's
They grant companies exclusive access to specified areas where they can look for "all mineral resources except hydrocarbons and radioactive elements, unless otherwise stipulated", according to the application procedure detailed online.
From Barron's
New research led by scientists at Penn State suggests that at least some of Bennu's amino acids may have originated in extremely cold, radioactive conditions during the earliest stages of the solar system.
From Science Daily
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.
