nuclear winter

noun

: the chilling of climate that is hypothesized to be a consequence of nuclear war and to result from the prolonged blockage of sunlight by high-altitude dust clouds produced by nuclear explosions

Examples of nuclear winter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web One of the big premises of the book was to take readers from nuclear launch to nuclear winter and the nuclear launch up to Day Zero takes place over this horrifying 72-minute period. Sean Illing, Vox, 23 June 2024 The threat to humanity's very existence would come after the war, when soot from massive fires ignited by the bombings would rapidly alter the climate in a scenario known as nuclear winter. Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 21 Mar. 2023 Fears of nuclear winter may have receded since the end of the cold war, Diaz-Maurin says, but research shows that the environmental consequences would be severe. Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 21 Mar. 2023 The soot from burning cities and forests will blot out the sun and cause a nuclear winter. Annie Jacobsen, TIME, 11 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for nuclear winter 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nuclear winter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nuclear winter was in 1983

Dictionary Entries Near nuclear winter

Cite this Entry

“Nuclear winter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nuclear%20winter. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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