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

Example Sentences

Hydrogen bombs are thermonuclear weapons.

Recent Examples on the Web

Unlike our own sun, which will shine for billions of years, more massive stars can burn through their thermonuclear fuel in only a few million years before sloughing off their outer layers and exploding in a dramatic supernova. —Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 17 Mar. 2023

Modern thermonuclear devices are complex bits of machinery designed to initiate a specific explosive sequence, sometimes called a fission-fusion-fission reaction, which releases a massive amount of energy. —WIRED, 27 Feb. 2023

Detonate a thermonuclear weapon to blast a crack several hundred meters deep in Earth’s surface. —Tim Folger, Discover Magazine, 13 July 2014

But a full draft opinion has never leaked to the press in the modern history of the court, and the reaction inside the marble palace will likely be thermonuclear. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 3 May 2022

DeChambeau’s controversies emerge from his almost thermonuclear proclivity for violating golf’s behavioral norms. —John Guaspari, National Review, 26 Sep. 2021

Even the invention of the atom bomb didn’t end the primacy of carriers; instead, carriers became a platform for delivering thermonuclear weapons. —Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 24 Sep. 2021

During the Cold War, the U.S., even with NATO, didn’t have primacy over the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact for one reason: The Soviets saw a war as a fight to the finish in which nuclear and thermonuclear weapons would be used. —WSJ, 29 May 2020

Many are the remains of massive stars that collapsed after burning through their thermonuclear trust funds. —Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 6 May 2020

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Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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