as in to destroy
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
a pretty sizable piece of real estate would be nuked if an asteroid struck
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nuke
The Anyone but You star portrays quarterback Russ Holliday, who disguises himself as a fictional person and walks onto a struggling football team in the South after bad behavior nukes his college career.
—
Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Dec. 2024
Pyongyang now routinely, almost casually, threatens to nuke South Korea and the United States.
—Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
Sunday was a striking microcosm of their season; an effort nuked by quarterback turnovers in the first half and special teams errors in the second, that proved unsalvageable despite strong defense throughout.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 2 Jan. 2024
South Koreans, who would bear the brunt of U.S. retaliation, were skittish about a military option even when Kim was threatening to nuke them over the deployment of the missile defense system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD.
—Daniel R. Russel, Foreign Affairs, 12 June 2018
See All Example Sentences for nuke
Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Dec. 2024
Pyongyang now routinely, almost casually, threatens to nuke South Korea and the United States.
—Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
Sunday was a striking microcosm of their season; an effort nuked by quarterback turnovers in the first half and special teams errors in the second, that proved unsalvageable despite strong defense throughout.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 2 Jan. 2024
South Koreans, who would bear the brunt of U.S. retaliation, were skittish about a military option even when Kim was threatening to nuke them over the deployment of the missile defense system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD.
—Daniel R. Russel, Foreign Affairs, 12 June 2018
See All Example Sentences for nuke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nuke
Verb
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The Palisades and Eaton fires burned more than 40,000 acres and destroyed at least 12,000 buildings.—
Corinne Purtill,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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Many of the early hires were believed to be young tech engineers with little to no government experience, prompting criticism from Democrats and unions that critical government services and systems would be cut or destroyed.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The house was demolished a few years ago, so those films have now become a kind of archival image of the family.—
David Opie,
IndieWire,
26 Mar. 2025
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Protests against Hamas come amid a deep humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where most infrastructure including medical facilities has been demolished.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacramento Bee,
23 Mar. 2025
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But those stocks were mined with some gusto, and large portions of the island were essentially ruined.—
Nick Miller,
The Athletic,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The floods have devastated local economies and communities.—
Alan Taylor,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2025
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In 2014, three West African countries were devastated by an Ebola outbreak that claimed more than 11,000 lives.—
Seth Berkley,
Time,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The tornado damaged the roof and shattered the windows of Drope’s home.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN,
22 Mar. 2025
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More than 50 drones were intercepted in Russia's Saratov region -- the largest attack of its kind in the area -- shattering windows in a hospital and damaging two kindergartens, a school and about 30 homes, Gov. Roman Busargin said.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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That’s led one of its top investors, Ross Gerber, this week to call for Musk to lay off the government wrecking or step down as CEO.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2025
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The tornado wrecked through 13 miles of the city, with wind speeds over 200 miles per hour.—
Greta Cross,
USA TODAY,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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To Late April Close, CFO Says - Update RTL pointed to 2024 success stories including Oscar-winner Poor Things, hit Amazon YA series Maxton Hall, Kim Kardashian-produced doc Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar and U.S. entertainment smashes like Family Feud and The Farmer Wants A Wife.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2025
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Two people who were in the office area were hit as the vehicle smashed through the building, came out the other side and struck another vehicle, police said.—
Nathan Pilling,
Kansas City Star,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nuke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nuke. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
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