nuclear
/nukleˈaɾ/
The Spanish word for nuclear is nuclear.
The word nuclear is an adjective used to describe things involving nuclear energy. Common collocations include una planta nuclear (a nuclear plant) and un reactor nuclear (a nuclear reactor).
Meaning: involving nuclear energy (adj)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, the term central nuclear is specifically used to refer to a nuclear power plant.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective nuclear is invariant for both masculine and feminine singular nouns. It becomes nucleares when modifying a plural noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/nukleˈaɾ/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word nuclear shares its roots with the English word 'nuclear', both descending from the Latin 'nuculeus', which means 'little nut'.
- The word núcleo, the root of nuclear, is used in Spanish to describe the core of a family, called the núcleo familiar.
- Because nuclear ends in an unstressed vowel, the stress remains on the penultimate syllable, just as it does in English.
Examples in context
- La energía nuclear es segura.Nuclear energy is safe.This sentence shows how to describe the safety of nuclear energy.Tatoeba #9142968 by baudelaire, translation #13532120 by araneo
- ¿Tu país tiene armas nucleares?Does your country have nuclear weapons?This sentence uses nuclear to ask about weapons.Tatoeba #1868885 by wallebot, translation #682388 by Source_VOA
- Alemania decidió no usar más energía nuclear.Germany decided to not use any more nuclear energy.This sentence uses nuclear to discuss the use of energy.Tatoeba #1784926 by marcelostockle, translation #2229975 by jgauthier
- 38 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are discussing a news report about energy.
- Mateo¿Viste la noticia sobre la central nuclear?Did you see the news about the nuclear power plant?
- SofíaSí, Mateo, es un tema muy complejo.Yes, Mateo, it is a very complex topic.
- MateoCreo que la energía nuclear es necesaria.I think nuclear energy is necessary.
- SofíaNo estoy segura de compartir esa opinión.I am not sure about sharing that opinion.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “nuclear” translations and entries nuclear, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nuclear, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
