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radioactive

[rey-dee-oh-ak-tiv]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective Physics, Chemistry.

of, pertaining to, exhibiting, or caused by radioactivity.

Origin:
1895–1900; radio- + active

Related forms

ra·di·o·ac·tive·ly, adverb

non·ra·di·o·ac·tive, adjective

un·ra·di·o·ac·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Radioactive is always a great word to know.

So is nuclear radiation. Does it mean:

the reciprocal of the bulk modulus, equal to the ratio of the fractional change in volume to the stress applied to a body

radiation in the form of elementary particles emitted by an atomic nucleus produced by decay of radioactive substances or by nuclear fission

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Example Sentences

The raindrops that keep falling on our heads may not cause our hair to fall out but they are, nevertheless, radioactive.

Litvinenko died last fall from poisoning with a radioactive element, polonium-210.

It would also not itself become radioactive by absorbing neutrons.

EXPAND

The raindrops that keep falling on our heads may not cause our hair to fall out but they are, nevertheless, radioactive.

Litvinenko died last fall from poisoning with a radioactive element, polonium-210.

It would also not itself become radioactive by absorbing neutrons.

Around the world radioactive nuclear reactors in derelict submarines dot the seafloor.

Radioactive sulphur signal adds to evidence of catastrophe.

The plants themselves become radioactive waste, which can be handled, and the water is cleansed.

Years later, they discovered two radioactive elements.

Radioactive abscess scan uses a radioactive substance to look for abscesses in the body.

But the world has a short attention span, whereas the half-lives of many radioactive isotopes are long indeed.

Painting yourself with iodine is an imprecise way to protect yourself if you are exposed to radioactive iodine, but it can work.

Few knew the danger of radioactive materials at the time.

Mechanism by which microbes scrub radioactive contamination revealed.

They also contain tiny grains of monazite, a rare earth mineral that lends itself to radioactive dating.

Investigators scanned the mysterious container to estimate the location and amount of radioactive material inside.

The radioactive elements released from the reactor form clouds that are carried off by the prevailing winds.

The problem with radioactive waste is that it has excess energy.

Some areas were more greatly affected because rain washed radioactive material from the atmosphere to the ground.

Radioactive debris scattered by the explosions is the biggest hazard for workers at the plant.

Nuclear reactors are powered by the fission of a radioactive element, typically uranium.

Patients treated with radioactive iodine can be dangerous to people around them.

The point of the experiment is that radioactive decay is a quantum process.

But it turns out that the radioactive cloud may have a silver lining.

The size of the proto-solar system and its distance from the explosion determine how much of that radioactive ejecta mingles in.

Nearly all countries produce nuclear waste and some of it can remain radioactive for thousands of years.

Radioactive iodine uptake test is a type of nuclear test performed to evaluate thyroid function.

If so, this might account for the sloppy radioactive smears and contamination of third parties.

They first cut an air-vent valve from the reactor, releasing some hydrogen gas and a few last wisps of radioactive steam.

The premise behind techniques involving the use of radioactive isotopes is straightforward.

Know the difference between radiation and radioactive contamination.

Most of the accidents did not involve radiation, but in seven cases workers inhaled radioactive material or were exposed to it.

The radioactive decay that produces this heat produces neutrinos, too.

The water further weakens the structure, and it seeps out into the environment, carrying radioactive contaminants.

Many will say that nothing more than zero radioactive releases is ever tolerable.

The two new elements are radioactive and only exist for less than a second before decaying into lighter atoms.

Sometimes radioactive treatments for cancer damage healthy body parts.

Not wishing to course a disturbance this may sound strange but exposing radioactive wast to the neutrino may solve a few problems.

Radioactive isotopes decay over time, but other isotopes remain stable.

Some believe that radioactive materials with long lifetimes are more dangerous than short-lived ones.

The miniature power cells will use radioactive decay for energy.

Highly radioactive water from a damaged maintenance pit is leaking into the sea.

Any delay in the clean-up poses problems, as radioactive particles may seep into groundwater and contaminate crops.

Around the world radioactive nuclear reactors in derelict subs dot the seafloor.

The roads were paved to cover radioactive dust, while ploughs flipped soil over to bury polluted soil.

Fusion power produces no greenhouse gas emissions and only low levels of radioactive waste.

But rather experiment with their enemies' lives with weird chemicals and rare radioactive substances.

Types of lead known as daughter isotopes are produced during the radioactive decay of uranium.

Plastic beads may provide a way to mop up radiation in nuclear power-stations and reduce the amount of radioactive waste.

We know the cloud of steam that comes from the cooling tower isn't radioactive.

Thorium is so common that miners treat it as a nuisance, a radioactive by-product if they try to dig up rare earth metals.

In general, asteroids are heated by the decay of radioactive atoms scattered throughout their insides.

It replaced confusing radioactive labels with laser-activated fluorescent dyes, making sequencing faster and much more precise.

Radioactive traces in flint can provide scientists with an accurate age.

Radioactive material is another substance that the federal government requires universities to monitor for safety.

Now an explosion at a nuclear power plant-and the release of radioactive material-has added.

Accusations fly over criminal dumping and scuttling of cargo ships carrying industrial and radioactive waste.

The procedure yields an estimate of a material's age based on the level of the radioactive element carbon-14 in organic material.

It doesn't matter what that something is, it could be a radioactive nucleus or bubbles in the head of a beer.

It measures how much radioactive iodine is taken up by the thyroid gland in a given time period.

The reason is that the ash left over when coal is burned contains radioactive elements, notably uranium and thorium.

The astronomers figured out the star's age by comparing the amount of radioactive isotope.

There are probably no radioactive isotopes involved.

The technique dates a piece of dead organic material by measuring the rate of decay of a radioactive isotope known as carbon-14.

His job was necessary because both spacecraft run on batteries made of plutonium, a potentially deadly radioactive element.

No, he wasn't bitten by a radioactive vacuum cleaner.

While pets who take a radioactive thyroid treatment are quarantined, humans can go home right away.

The easiest way to spread poisonous or radioactive materials might be to fly into repositories of them.

In some areas, the radioactive junk is hot enough to kill anyone.

In order to date these minerals, the group used the steady decay of radioactive uranium to lead.

The military personnel apparently had flown through a radioactive plume from a damaged nuclear power plant.

The ash contains minerals such as zircon that can be dated precisely from the radioactive decay of some of their components.

The rover will also use a new radioactive power system and a nail-biting.

Positrons are the antimatter equivalent of electrons, and are produced in a rare type of radioactive decay.

And day by day, the radioactive decay in the reactor cores is ebbing.

If you got your powers from radioactive chewing tobacco.

It can be a radioactive isotope-allowing radiotherapy designed to kill tumour cells to be directed to those cells alone.

What to do with the highly radioactive nuclear waste has long been the subject of heated debate.

Then he gets bitten by a radioactive spider, and the rest is comic book history.

Further away, rainstorms are washing the radioactive particles.

The vast expanse of land, water, and air surrounding the plant is still laced with lethal levels of radioactive contaminants.

Shareholders have dropped its stock as if it were not merely oily but radioactive.

Tungsten-182 is formed by the radioactive decay of halfnium-182, which has a half-life of nine million years.

These bands can be colored with a radioactive dye to make them visible to imaging techniques.

Their team based their estimate on the decay of radioactive uranium found in tiny shards of zircon taken from the bedrock.

With any of the new reactors, of course, there will still be radioactive waste to contend with.

Scientists injected a radioactive dye into my left arm, which felt warm and tingly as it coursed toward my brain.

To solve the mystery, the team placed radioactive markers on nutrients in the eggs before they were transferred to the father.

When the projectile exits slam the door shut and redirect the radioactive steam into the water.

The positrons were captured from a radioactive sodium source.

Sims uses radioactive clocks to decipher volcanic processes, measuring and comparing two isotopes of radon.

Spiderman exists by the grace of a radioactive spider bite.

Nuclear ventriculography is a test that uses radioactive materials called tracers to show the heart chambers.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

radioactive (ˌreɪdɪəʊˈæktɪv)

—*adj*
	exhibiting, using, or concerned with radioactivity

radio'actively

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

radioactive

1898, from Fr. radio-actif, coined by Pierre and Marie Curie from radio-, comb. form of L. radius (see radiation) + actif (fem. active) "active."

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

radioactive ra·di·o·ac·tive (rā'dē-ō-āk'tĭv)
adj.
Of or exhibiting radioactivity.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

radioactive definition

A descriptive term for a material made up of atoms in which radioactivity occurs.

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