pro-nuke
|pro-nuke|
🇺🇸
/proʊˈnuːk/
🇬🇧
/prəʊˈnjuːk/
for nuclear (weapons or power)
Etymology
'pro-nuke' is formed from the prefix 'pro-' (from Latin 'pro', meaning 'for') plus the informal noun/verb 'nuke' (short for 'nuclear').
'nuke' is a 20th-century colloquial shortening of 'nuclear' (from Latin 'nucleus' via Medieval/Modern Latin and Old French/Latin-derived forms), and the compound 'pro-nuke' arose in late 20th-century geopolitical and media contexts (Cold War and after) to label support for nuclear weapons or nuclear power.
Initially 'pro-' simply meant 'for' and 'nuke' was slang for 'nuclear/ to attack with nuclear weapons'; over time the compound specifically came to mean 'in favor of nuclear weapons or nuclear power' in political and popular usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who supports nuclear weapons or nuclear power; someone described as 'pro-nuke.'
Among the panelists, she was the only pro-nuke who argued openly for rearmament.
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Adjective 1
supportive of the development, possession, or use of nuclear weapons; in favor of nuclear armament or nuclear warfare options.
The senator took a pro-nuke stance during the debate on defense spending.
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Adjective 2
in favor of nuclear energy or nuclear power (supportive of building or maintaining nuclear power plants).
Local businesses argued for a pro-nuke policy to keep the plant open for jobs.
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Last updated: 2025/11/09 21:11