Nuclearised

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Armed with nuclear weapons or fitted with nuclear power, as a country, force or vessel that has been converted to rely on atomic technology
2. Outfitted with atomic arms or reactors, having been transformed from a conventional state into one that depends on nuclear capability
3. Provided with nuclear armaments or energy systems, a condition that results from deliberately converting something to atomic technology

Etymology: "Nuclearised" is the past tense and past participle of "nuclearise", which is simply "nuclear" with the verb-forming ending "-ise" attached. That ending traces back a long way: it descends from the Ancient Greek suffix "-izein", used to make verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat in a certain way", and passed through Late Latin "-izare" and Old French "-iser" before reaching English. So the verb is built from a Greek-derived ending that English has used for centuries on countless other stems, such as "modernise" and "organise". The stem itself, "nuclear", comes from "nucleus", Latin for "kernel" or "nut", a diminutive-style formation from "nux", meaning "nut". Attaching "-ise" to it gives the sense "to make nuclear", that is, to equip with nuclear weapons or power, or to subject something to nuclear processes. The construction is a plain modern coinage on existing parts rather than an ancient word, and its meaning follows directly from the parts combined.

Synonyms: nuclearized