prenuclear

[ pree-noo-klee-er, -nyoo-or, by metathesis, -kyuh-ler ]

adjective

1. of or relating to the era before the development of nuclear weapons.

Pronunciation Note

See nuclear.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prenuclear¹

First recorded in 1950–55; pre- + nuclear

Example Sentences

“The threat is imminent, and the case against pre-emption rests on the misinterpretation of a standard that derives from prenuclear, pre-ballistic-missile times,” he wrote.

From The Guardian

Nothing is more chilling than the argument for attacking North Korea that Bolton sketched out in a Wall Journal op-ed just a few weeks ago, “The threat is imminent, and the case against pre-emption rests on the misinterpretation of a standard that derives from prenuclear, pre-ballistic-missile times.”

From The Guardian

The threat is imminent, and the case against pre-emption rests on the misinterpretation of a standard that derives from prenuclear, pre-ballistic-missile times.

From Wall Street Journal

The world would move from the prenuclear age to the nuclear era with the very first atomic fireball; if there were a vacuum of national or international control at that moment, the result could be “something akin to mass hysteria.”

From Literature

By 2013, the number of visitors to Japan exceeded 10 million people for the first time ever, surpassing the prenuclear accident arrival numbers by 20 percent.

From New York Times