nonnuclear
adjective
non·nu·cle·ar ˌnän-ˈnü-klē-ər 
-ˈnyü-,
nonstandard
-kyə-lər 1
: not nuclear: such as
a
: being a weapon whose destructive power is not derived from a nuclear reaction
b
: not operated by, using, or produced by nuclear energy
c
: not using or involving nuclear weapons
2
: not having nuclear weapons
a nonnuclear country
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The diplomatic mission can also stress that Tehran’s intransigence over nonnuclear issues ultimately torpedoed revival of the 2015 agreement. 
John Bolton, WSJ, 20 July 2022 But the extension of Israel’s campaign against Iran’s nonnuclear subversive activities onto Iranian soil is a new development and a significant escalation. Jonathan Spyer, WSJ, 15 June 2022 Biden, stepping back from a campaign vow, has embraced a longstanding U.S. approach of using the threat of a potential nuclear response to deter conventional and other nonnuclear dangers in addition to nuclear ones, U.S. officials said. WSJ, 25 Mar. 2022 The second problem, Geller says, arises because cruise missiles can be armed with nonnuclear warheads. Jason Sherman, Scientific American, 2 June 2022 Those consequences, though, would almost certainly be nonnuclear, officials said — a sharp contrast to the kind of threats of nuclear escalation that Washington and Moscow pursued during the Cold War. New York Times, 1 June 2022 The classic scenario, Miller says, involves NATO being unable to halt a Russian invasion using its nonnuclear defenses. Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2022 Some interpret the pledge as something more than the assurances nuclear-armed states routinely provide nonnuclear ones—one that under some scenarios could pit Beijing against Moscow. Lingling Wei And James T. Areddy, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2022 And nuclear escalation would be likely, because the U.S. is far superior to Russia in terms of nonnuclear forces. Jeffrey Fields, The Conversation, 4 Apr. 2022 See More
John Bolton, WSJ, 20 July 2022 But the extension of Israel’s campaign against Iran’s nonnuclear subversive activities onto Iranian soil is a new development and a significant escalation. Jonathan Spyer, WSJ, 15 June 2022 Biden, stepping back from a campaign vow, has embraced a longstanding U.S. approach of using the threat of a potential nuclear response to deter conventional and other nonnuclear dangers in addition to nuclear ones, U.S. officials said. WSJ, 25 Mar. 2022 The second problem, Geller says, arises because cruise missiles can be armed with nonnuclear warheads. Jason Sherman, Scientific American, 2 June 2022 Those consequences, though, would almost certainly be nonnuclear, officials said — a sharp contrast to the kind of threats of nuclear escalation that Washington and Moscow pursued during the Cold War. New York Times, 1 June 2022 The classic scenario, Miller says, involves NATO being unable to halt a Russian invasion using its nonnuclear defenses. Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2022 Some interpret the pledge as something more than the assurances nuclear-armed states routinely provide nonnuclear ones—one that under some scenarios could pit Beijing against Moscow. Lingling Wei And James T. Areddy, WSJ, 16 Mar. 2022 And nuclear escalation would be likely, because the U.S. is far superior to Russia in terms of nonnuclear forces. Jeffrey Fields, The Conversation, 4 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1953, in the meaning defined at sense 1