How to Use nuclear capability in a Sentence

nuclear capability

phrase
  • North Korea tests a new weapon designed to bolster its nuclear capability.
    Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2022
  • Trump said the deal, which exchanged sanctions relief for a rollback of Iran’s nuclear capability, was too generous and not strict enough.
    Ron Kampeas, sun-sentinel.com, 9 Nov. 2020
  • China’s reported test of a new orbital weapon with nuclear capability is bad news for the United States.
    David Axe, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2021
  • For that matter, would Russia even have thought about invading if Ukraine had nuclear capability?
    Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Each has weaponized all the modern tools of state power, including nuclear capability, to diminish the democratic world.
    Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2022
  • But this time, Pyongyang dialed back on the display of military might – there were no ballistic missiles on show, no boasts of nuclear capability.
    Sung-Yoon Lee, The Conversation, 15 Sep. 2021
  • So does Japan, which has almost all the same advantages as India, albeit with a latent nuclear capability.
    Joshua Shifrinson, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2023
  • In the short term, Iran is expected to continue its current policy of using proxies and its goal of achieving a nuclear capability.
    Farhad Rezaei, National Review, 22 May 2024
  • His success in dealing with Iran's nuclear capability has become a distant memory.
    Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The Kremlin never did want Iran to have an independent nuclear capability.
    Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
  • The president has failed to deliver on his objective of ending Iran's nuclear capability.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 21 July 2026
  • Armed warplanes are among the most notorious military spending programs, and adding a nuclear capability tends to exacerbate both.
    Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 27 Apr. 2021
  • But such missiles are designed to carry atomic warheads, and the use of one, even with a conventional payload, would serve as a chilling reminder of Russia’s nuclear capability.
    Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
  • This is considered the standard for maintaining a credible second-strike nuclear capability.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Iran remains isolated, with its forward positions demolished and its nuclear capability nil.
    Newsweek Contributors, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
  • Putin’s geopolitical power is vastly enhanced by the fact that Russia has retained massive nuclear capability.
    Cassie Werber, Quartz, 1 Sep. 2022
  • Tension in the Middle East was already high when the conflict broke out, due to Israel’s war in Gaza and Iran’s nuclear capability.
    Tara Suter, The Hill, 24 June 2025
  • The Chinese army, on the other hand, has transformed into Asia’s largest military force, in both conventional and nuclear capability.
    Kyle Balzer, Foreign Affairs, 21 Nov. 2024
  • And over the past year, the North has enshrined its nuclear capability in its laws and started talking about its first-strike capabilities, rather than casting its arsenal as purely defensive.
    Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2023
  • Trump has previously been vocal about preventing Iran from reaching nuclear capability.
    Spriha Srivastava, CNBC, 22 June 2025
  • Iran, with its sophisticated military, near-nuclear capability, proxy networks spanning the region and a regime now martyred by foreign attack, will likely not be the exception.
    Farah N. Jan, The Conversation, 2 Mar. 2026
  • The latest high-profile military showcase comes amid signs that North Korea has been stepping up its nuclear capability to pressure the United States and its allies.
    Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2022
  • But some experts say Pyongyang has also used its rivals’ drills as a chance to test new weapons systems, boost its nuclear capability, and increase its leverage in future dealings with Washington and Seoul.
    Hyung-Jin Kim and Kim Tong-Hyung, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Oct. 2022
  • But some experts worry that Pyongyang also uses the drills as a chance to test new weapons, strengthen its nuclear capability, and increase its leverage in future dealings with Washington and Seoul.
    Isaac Lee, NBC News, 25 Feb. 2023
  • Bennett and bin Zayed will also confront emerging disagreements over international efforts to slow the nuclear capability of Iran.
    Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2021
  • Tensions in the Middle East were already high when Iran and Israel broke into war, due to Israel’s war in Gaza and Iran’s nuclear capability.
    Tara Suter, The Hill, 24 June 2025
  • If genuine, this commitment provides Prince Mohammed the time and protection to develop Saudi nuclear weapons or a latent nuclear capability.
    Amy McAuliffe, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2026
  • The discovery follows recent warnings by Pentagon officials about rapid advances in China’s nuclear capability.
    Joby Warrick, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2021
  • The growth of a truly independent European nuclear capability would be another unwelcome symptom of America ceding its influence in the world.
    Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2025
  • Trump said Saturday that the operation is aimed at razing Iran’s military and nuclear capability and dismantling its theocratic regime, and at one point even told Iranians to overthrow its government.
    Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nuclear capability.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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