thermonuclear

adjective

ther·​mo·​nu·​cle·​ar ˌthər-mō-ˈnü-klē-ər 

-ˈnyü-,

nonstandard

-ˈn(y)ü-kyə-lər 

1

: of, relating to, or employing transformations in the nuclei of atoms of low atomic weight (such as hydrogen) that require a very high temperature for their inception (as in the hydrogen bomb or in the sun)

thermonuclear reaction

thermonuclear weapon

2

: of, utilizing, or relating to a thermonuclear bomb

thermonuclear war

a thermonuclear attack

Examples of thermonuclear in a Sentence

Hydrogen bombs are thermonuclear weapons.

Recent Examples on the Web

Even Wernher von Braun’s fictional doppelgänger, Dr. Strangelove, might have winced at such breezy talk of thermonuclear explosions. —Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 28 July 2025

Other times, a voracious star eats too much of a companion star nearby and gives itself a destructive bout of thermonuclear indigestion. —Robin George Andrews, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 May 2025

Khan led secret production efforts (in parallel to another Pakistani weapons program) that successfully yielded nuclear warheads in 1986, though they were not tested until 1998 − mere weeks after India tested its new thermonuclear weapons. —Davis Winkie, USA Today, 8 May 2025

At the time, Ukraine seemed to have no enemies, and no need for city-destroying thermonuclear bombs. —Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for thermonuclear

• antinuclear
• internuclear
• intranuclear
• mononuclear
• perinuclear
• polynuclear
• supranuclear
• binuclear
• nuclear
• polymorphonuclear

Kids Definition

thermonuclear

adjective

ther·​mo·​nu·​cle·​ar ˌthər-mō-ˈn(y)ü-klē-ər 

: of or relating to the transformations in the nucleus of atoms of low atomic weight (as hydrogen) that require a very high temperature (as in the hydrogen bomb or in the sun)

a thermonuclear reaction

a thermonuclear weapon