Synonyms of nucleus

nucleus

noun

ˈnü-klē-əs 

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

• center
• hub
• capital
• mecca
• core
• base
• heart
• focus
• locus
• seat
• central
• axis
• nexus
• nerve center
• epicenter
• ground zero
• headquarters
• navel
• playground
• cynosure
• omphalos
• eye
• where it's at
• hive
• magnet
• hotbed
• kernel
• essence
• attraction
• hot spot
• pith
• playland
• thick
• soul
• nub
• happy hunting ground
• quintessence
• polestar
• deep
• lodestone

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

• core
• heart
• essence
• root
• kernel
• sum
• point
• meat
• bottom line
• sum and substance
• centerpiece
• pivot
• net
• pith
• crux
• nub
• gist
• subject
• the long and short
• keynote
• nubbin
• direction
• theme
• tenor
• substance
• bull's-eye
• meat and potatoes
• body
• content
• drift
• course
• hypothesis
• proposition
• thesis
• purport

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of nucleus

The achievement could help investigate some of physics’ hardest problems, including high-temperature superconductivity and the interactions governing particles inside atomic nuclei. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2026

In them, a high voltage creates a hot plasma that smashes nuclei together. — George Musser, Quanta Magazine, 2 Nov. 2026

In 2019, Phoenix sent a delegation to Taiwan to share a new development plan for a science and technology park, the nucleus of which would be a factory, ideally one of TSMC’s fabs. — Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 29 Oct. 2026

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