radioactive
/ˌɹeɪdiəʊˈaktɪv/US/ˌɹeɪdioʊˈæktɪv/
radioactive adjective: exhibiting radioactivity.
Adjective
radioactive (comparative more radioactive, superlative most radioactive)
- Exhibiting radioactivity.
- 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.1917, H. G. Wells, “The First Vision”, in The Soul of a Bishop
- Today, no one would intentionally smear radioactive materials on their face, but in 1933, the dangers of radioactivity were not yet fully understood.2020 March 8, Jacopo Prisco, “When beauty products were radioactive”, in CNN
- Dangerous and disgusting, particularly of people or ideas.
- 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.’2009, Michela Wrong, It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle Blower
Noun
radioactive (plural radioactives)
- Any radioactive substance.
- Any ship nearby will receive a lethal dose of gamma rays, neutrons, and other radioactives.2016, Travis S. Taylor, Les Johnson, On to the Asteroid
radioactive meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Indonesian
radioactive in Hindi
- exhibiting radioactivity
- विकिरणशील vikiraṇśīl
radioactive in Tamil
- கதிரியக்க, கிளர்மின்வீசுகின்ற, கிளர்மின்னுக்குரிய, கதிரியக்கமுள்ள
radioactive in Urdu
- exhibiting radioactivity
- تابْکار tābkār
radioactive in Indonesian
- exhibiting radioactivity
- radioaktif
More languagesFewer languages
- radioactive in Thai
- กัมมันตรังสี
Examples of radioactive in a sentence
- This radioactive decay produces a hassium that lasts for several seconds.
- This radioactive decay leaves behind a protium as well.
- Lead bricks were placed around the radioactive source so that the escaping gamma rays would be limited to a collimated beam rather than filling the lab.
Forms of radioactive
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more radioactive |
| superlative | most radioactive |
| alternative form (dated) | radio-active |
| Noun | |
| plural | radioactives |
Origin of radioactive
Coined by Pierre Curie and Marie Curie in 1898 as French radio-actif, equivalent to English radio- + active.
Words formed from radioactive
Phrases with radioactive
Words that rhyme with radioactive
- active
- inactive
- reactive
- attractive
- extractive
- protractive
- abstractive
- factive
- hyperactive
- interactive
- subtractive
- unattractive
14 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about radioactive
- What does radioactive mean?
- Radioactive means exhibiting radioactivity.
- What is radioactive in Hindi?
- Radioactive in Hindi is विकिरणशील (vikiraṇśīl). See Radioactive meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is radioactive?
- Radioactive can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce radioactive?
- Radioactive is pronounced /ˌɹeɪdiəʊˈaktɪv/ (UK).
Words near radioactive in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: radioactive (page history and authors); radioactive (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-radioactive.wav.
Cite this entry: “radioactive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/radioactive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.