nucleus

noun

ˈnü-klē-əs How to pronounce nucleus (audio)
Definition of nucleusnext
1
as in center
a thing or place that is of greatest importance to an activity or interest a college campus that was a nucleus of opposition to the war

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in core
the central part or aspect of something under consideration the nucleus of the movement's methodology has always been passive resistance

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nucleus Discovering life at a new extreme Eukaryotic cells, like the ones found in our bodies, contain organelles like nuclei and mitochondria. — Kristen Skruber, The Conversation, 29 Oct. 2026 Of course, Sandberg is the former COO of Meta who spent more than a decade at the nucleus of Facebook and Instagram, making decisions that influenced how these platforms developed. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026 Many of the heaviest elements arise only in environments where lots of free neutrons crash into atomic nuclei at great velocities. — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 But there is the nucleus—and indeed much more than the nucleus, of something very good. — Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nucleus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nucleus
  1. center
  2. core
  3. hub
  4. heart
  5. capital
  6. essence
  7. mecca
  8. root
Noun
  • Ben’s view Hoffman, who sometimes works from a small swivel chair in her children’s room, has followed a path from social video into the center of the swirling news cycles of true crime and celebrity.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • After police cordoned off an area in the city center, the situation calmed down by early Sunday morning.
    — Angela Charlton, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of center
Noun
  • Meanwhile, the MacBook Neo's iPhone-grade chip outperformed Googlebooks’ processors in single-core performance, while losing out on multi-core performance by varying (but overall large) margins.
    — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026
  • As that enormous dome thinned through the Holocene, its margin withdrew up onto Baffin Island, and what’s left today is the deflated core of something that was once two miles thick.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of core
Noun
  • Tens of thousands of people across more than 30 cities took to the streets, including in the capital Berlin and financial hub Frankfurt, in protests organized by the campaign group Gen Z regelt (Gen Z takes charge).
    — Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 1 Nov. 2026
  • To tout their readiness for the midterms, Fulton County officials invited media to the same sprawling elections hub where FBI agents seized more than 650 boxes of ballots and other 2020 election records nine months ago.
    — Caleb Groves, AJC.com, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of hub
Noun
  • The sharpest character study lies in the potential recipient of Simon’s heart, a woman who has all but given up on having a future but then finds herself at the top of a transplant list, suddenly lucky enough to get a new life.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Ashley Padilla Padilla, who captured hearts as a star cast member of SNL this past year, made the room laugh with a toast full of jokes and references to her most notable sketches.
    — Rebecca Schneid, Time, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of heart
Noun
  • Alaska Airlines, Boise Airport’s main flight provider, will soon launch nonstop service from Idaho’s capital city to Santa Rosa, California.
    — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The country's upper house of parliament voted last month to require UBS to hold 90% of Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital, or about $16 billion in extra shares, as collateral to support its foreign subsidiaries.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of capital
Noun
  • First, the essence of each brand tends to manifest in aesthetics and interaction models.
    — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Rather than rehashing traditional compositions, the group recognizes these sorely untapped sounds as living and malleable, creating new interpretations that bring them to our times without losing an ounce of their essence and verve.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of essence
Noun
  • In the winter, this is one-horse town completely transforms into a mecca for serious backcountry skiers.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Oct. 2026
  • But in the eight years since that location opened its doors, the brand has grown, and the mall has evolved from small art galleries into a vintage mecca.
    — Max Berlinger, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of mecca
Noun
  • The lessons from Arsenal’s root-and-branch rebuild that culminated in them lifting the Premier League trophy in May is three-fold.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The operators were also ordered to take several measures to address the odors, determine the root cause of the leachate leaks and conduct additional inspections to prevent or mitigate the gases behind the odors.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of root

Browse Nearby Words

nuclei
nucleus
nude
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Cite this Entry

“Nucleus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nucleus. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nucleus

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