'antinuke' originates from modern English, specifically a compound of 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') and 'nuke' (a colloquial shortening of 'nuclear', ultimately from Latin 'nucleus' meaning 'kernel').

'nuke' developed in mid-20th century as informal/slang shortening of 'nuclear' (used for both 'nuclear weapon' and 'nuclear power'); 'antinuke' then arose in late 20th century as a compound combining 'anti-' + 'nuke' within activist and journalistic usage.

Initially it was used mainly to denote opposition to 'nuclear weapons', but over time its use broadened to include opposition to 'nuclear power' and to function both as a noun ('an antinuke') and an adjective ('antinuke protest').