radioactive
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.
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.
Origin of radioactive
1Other words from radioactive
- ra·di·o·ac·tive·ly, adverb
- non·ra·di·o·ac·tive, adjective
- un·ra·di·o·ac·tive, adjective
Words Nearby radioactive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use radioactive in a sentence
Thorium and uranium, which could be used for radioactive fuel, are found together in 34 regions that are areas of less than 80km wide.
Lunar Gold Rush Could Create Conflict on the Ground if We Don’t Act Now—New Research | Tony Milligan | December 10, 2020 | Singularity HubMembers of the Borexino collaboration in Italy started by developing the technology to purge the materials from which they would build their detector of polluting radioactive ingredients.
We still don’t really know what’s inside the sun—but that could change very soon | Charlie Wood | November 30, 2020 | Popular-ScienceYet when it comes to helping Guam veterans who have been historically exposed to toxic chemicals such as Agent Orange and radioactive materials, Veterans Affairs provides little to no help to these residents.
The real love interest in Netflix’s Operation Christmas Drop is the US military | Rachel Ramirez | November 23, 2020 | VoxEveryone knows Peter Parker, the guy from Queens who was bitten by a radioactive spider and became Spider-Man.
‘Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales’: Like its movie counterparts, a confident and entertaining spectacle | Christopher Byrd | November 6, 2020 | Washington PostWudan Yan looks at new attempts to tackle the problem of storing nuclear waste, some of which will stay radioactive for millions of years.
To think your way out of a crisis, look beyond it | Katie McLean | October 21, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
He was radioactive to those who once valued his political counsel and editorial avidity.
Murdoch on the Rocks: How a Lone Reporter Revealed the Mogul's Tabloid Terror Machine | Clive Irving | August 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe was struck down inside an upmarket London hotel by a rare radioactive poison that had been slipped in to his pot of tea.
Brits Investigate Assassination of the Spy Who Warned Us About Putin | Nico Hines | July 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Japanese monster gets a $160 million blockbuster reboot and protects mankind against a pair of radioactive MUTOs.
'Godzilla' Director Gareth Edwards Says Godzilla Is a 'God' Protecting Mankind Against Climate Change | Marlow Stern | May 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThat would be Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie, the gal who discovered radioactive polonium.
The Iranians now have most of the know-how and most of the radioactive stuff they need to build a bomb.
Iranian Bombs and Black Swans in the Nuclear Negotiations | Christopher Dickey | December 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHe thinks the big comet which hit the earth contained radioactive gas that made us all into metal.
The Onslaught from Rigel | Fletcher PrattA radioactive sodium atom contains a different number of neutrons.
The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard KeischFortunately each kind of radioactive atom decays with a unique “pattern” scientists call a 11 “decay scheme”.
The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard KeischTo do this we have to know the types of radiation emitted by the radioactive atoms we are trying to measure.
The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard Keischradioactive atoms almost always decay by emitting negatively charged beta particles usually accompanied by gamma rays.
The Atomic Fingerprint | Bernard Keisch
British Dictionary definitions for radioactive
/ (ˌreɪdɪəʊˈæktɪv) /
exhibiting, using, or concerned with radioactivity
Derived forms of radioactive
- radioactively, adverb
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
Cultural definitions for radioactive
A descriptive term for a material made up of atoms in which radioactivity occurs.
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.
Browse