radioactive
pronunciation
How to pronounce radioactive in British English:
UK [ˌreɪdiəʊˈæktɪv]
How to pronounce radioactive in American English:
US [ˌreɪdioʊˈæktɪv]
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- Adjective:
- exhibiting or caused by radioactivity
Word Origin
- radioactive (adj.)
- 1898, from French radio-actif, coined by Pierre and Marie Curie from radio-, comb. form of Latin radius (see radiation) + actif "active" (see active).
Example
- 1. Radioactive iodine loses half its strength in a week .
- 2. The unstable element , which will remain radioactive for millennia , is the residue of ill-fated efforts to recycle used nuclear fuel .
- 3. But radioactive waste is a serious unresolved issue .
- 4. Some byproducts of the nuclear fission are themselves radioactive .
- 5. The phenomenon is called radioactive fallout .