radioactive
/ˌɹeɪdioʊˈæktɪv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.72 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
adj
Dangerous and disgusting, particularly of people or ideas.
Example Sentences
- "As a matter of fact many of our best drinking waters have all sorts of unspecified qualities. Burton water, for example, is radioactive by Beetham's standards up to the ninth degree."
- "Today, no one would intentionally smear radioactive materials on their face, but in 1933, the dangers of radioactivity were not yet fully understood."
- "Even sleazy tactics and his radioactive mouth may not be able to contain this debacle."
- "It was as though he was possessed of an invisible aura repelling incoming bodies. ‘Look. No one wants to be associated with him now. He’s become radioactive.’"
- "And while Biden’s other nominees have done little to provoke Republican backlash thus far, [Neera] Tanden is “radioactive,” as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) put it."
- "If, by some miracle, Democrats hang on to one or both houses of Congress this November, it will be because of Cawthorn, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and other would-be G.O.P. candidates trying to be just like them — the Radioactive Republicans."
Etymology
Etymology tree Latin radiusder. French radio- Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus ▲ Ancient Greek ἐνεργητῐκός (energētĭkós)sl. Latin āctīvusbor. Old French actif French actif French radioactifbor. English radioactive Coined by Pierre Curie and Marie Curie in 1898 as French radio-actif, equivalent to English radio- + active.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɹeɪdioʊˈæktɪv/
- British English: /ˌɹeɪdiəʊˈaktɪv/
Inflected Forms
more radioactive (comparative)
most radioactive (superlative)
radio-active (alternative, dated)
radioactives (plural)