radioactive Hear it!

radioactive Definition

radio·ac·tive (rā′dē ō ak′tiv)

adjective

giving off, or capable of giving off, radiant energy in the form of particles or rays, as alpha, beta, and gamma rays, by the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei: said of certain elements, as plutonium, radium, thorium, and uranium, and their products

Etymology: radio- + active

radioactive Related Forms

ra′dio·ac′·tively adverb ra′dio·ac·tiv′·ity (-ak tiv′ə tē) noun

radioactive Synonyms

radioactive

modif.

active, energetic, contaminated, irradiated, dangerous, hot*; see also poisonous.

radioactive Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • isotope: It relies on an analysis of how much of a radioactive isotope has decayed into its daughter isotope.
  • iodine: Therefore, the radioactive iodine builds up in the thyroid gland.
  • decay: The rate of radioactive decay is an example of 1st order kinetics.
  • contamination: Fresh contamination found New areas of radioactive contamination have been found by monitors at Dounreay.
  • waste: Deciding the future of the UK's radioactive waste Left hand column editable content area!
  • tracer: Using a vein in your arm, you will receive an injection of the radioactive tracer.

Modifying Another Word

  • mildly: A very small amount of a mildly radioactive substance is injected into a vein, usually in the arm.
  • weakly: When a uranium-tipped weapon hits an object, it produces a vapor that is weakly radioactive.
  • intensely: The dissolver, full of intensely radioactive nitric acid, is behind extremely thick shielding.
  • dangerously: Much of it will remain dangerously radioactive for thousands of years.
  • highly: Highly radioactive fallout would be generated even by a small nuclear weapon detonated just below the Earth's surface.
  • slightly: Nuclear studies using intravenous agents which are slightly radioactive are becoming increasingly useful.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: Much of it will remain dangerously radioactive for thousands of years.
  • stay: There is no safe way of disposing of nuclear waste, which can stay radioactive for 100,000 years.
  • become: At present the plant is not radioactive - once it becomes radioactive the decommissioning costs increase greatly.
  • make: Radioiodine ( iodine-131 ) This is iodine that has been made radioactive, similar to the iodine used for a scintigraphy scan.

Preposition: in

light: They glowed like they were radioactive in the neon light of the Hamm's beer sign over the bar.

Preposition: for

thousand: Much of it will remain dangerously radioactive for thousands of years.

Preposition: than

uranium: Depleted uranium is thus many, many times less radioactive than the uranium employed for nuclear uses.