postnuclear

adjective

post·​nu·​cle·​ar ˌpōs(t)-ˈn(y)ü-klē-ər How to pronounce postnuclear (audio)
variants or post-nuclear
: of, relating to, occurring in, or suggestive of a period following a nuclear war
… a macho street hero who arrives to clean up a tough town in a postnuclear tomorrow.Fred Robbins
… a post-nuclear thriller about an astronaut … struggling to stay alive amid earth's devastation.TV Guide
… a postnuclear landscape of poverty and blight …Richard Corliss

Examples of postnuclear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Even the most mundane tasks of our chamber—and therefore of the Biden presidency—would become much harder, not easier, in a postnuclear 50-50 Senate. Mitch McConnell, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2021 And, while it hasn’t been eulogized with the same fanfare as the other formative HBO dramas, to my eye, Six Feet Under’s vision of a diverse and porous postnuclear family is unrivaled in both prescience and earned sentiment. Adam Wilson, Harper's magazine, 16 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of postnuclear was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near postnuclear

Cite this Entry

“Postnuclear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postnuclear. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!