Nucular

Dictionary notes

This is one of two contentious pronunciations that receive particular mention in the FAQ of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

The American Heritage Dictionary notes:

The Oxford English Dictionary notes:

In his 1999 book The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations, logophile Charles Harrington Elster wrote that the vast majority of those he spoke to while writing his book as well as 99% of the 1985 usage panel of Morris & Morris's Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage specifically condemned the use of the word and characterized it as a mispronunciation. Elster's own view on the matter derives from the root of the word: "nucleus". Arguing by analogy, Elster suggests that "Molecular comes from molecule, and particular comes from particle, but there is no nucule to support nucular."

Notable users

The U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and vice president Walter Mondale used this pronunciation. In his 2005 book Going Nucular, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg suggested that the presidents' reasons for their differing pronunciations may be distinct. Whereas Eisenhower's pronunciation most likely arose from lack of familiarity (he first learned the word in midlife), Bush's usage may represent a calculated effort to appeal to populist sentiment, though Nunberg's theory here is rejected by linguist Steven Pinker. This analysis is repeated in the second edition of Elster's Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations.

Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy used this pronunciation in a BBC documentary.

The nuclear physicist Edward Teller, "father" of the American hydrogen bomb, supposedly used "nucular", and it does have some currency in the American nuclear research establishment. But in a 1965 interview on Project Plowshare, Teller used the standard pronunciation.

The 17th U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, said "nucular" several times in his welcome remarks on February 5, 2025.

Motivation

Pinker has proposed a phonotactic explanation for the conversion of nuclear to nucular: the unusual and disfavored sequence is gradually transformed to a more acceptable configuration via metathesis. But Arnold Zwicky notes that presents no difficulty for English speakers in words such as pricklier and deems the postulation of metathesis unnecessary. He suggests a morphological origin, combining the slang nuke with the common sequence -cular (molecular, particular, etc.). Supporting Zwicky's hypothesis, Geoffrey Nunberg quotes a government weapons specialist: "Oh, I only say 'nucular' when I'm talking about nukes." Nunberg argues that this pronunciation by weapons specialists and by politicians such as Bush may be a deliberate choice. He suggests that the reasons for this choice are to assert authority or to sound folksy.

References

References

1. "[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/258266 nucular, adj.2]". OED Online. September 2013. Oxford University Press. Accessed 10 September 2013.
2. (2012-08-31). "nuclear - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary". M-w.com.
3. (2013-01-09). "Nuclear - Definition from the American Heritage Online Dictionary". Ahdictionary.com.
4. "[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/128926 nuclear, adj. (and adv.) and n.]". OED Online. September 2013. Oxford University Press. Accessed 10 September 2013.
5. [[Charles Harrington Elster. Elster, Charles Harrington]]. ''The Big Book Of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide for the Careful Speaker''. Houghton Mifflin. Pp.347-350. {{ISBN. 978-0-618-42315-6. 2006.
6. ''[https://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/beastly/#Nuclear Do you Speak American?]'' [[PBS]]. 2005.
7. Kate Taylor. (18 September 2002). "Why Does Bush Go "Nucular"?". Slate.
8. [[Steven Pinker
9. [[Geoffrey Nunberg. Nunberg, Geoffrey]]. ''Going Nucular: Language, Politics. and Culture in Confrontational Times''. PublicAffairs. Pp.297-298. {{ISBN. 1586483455. 2009.
10. [[BBC]] documentary, "Faster Than the Speed of Light"
11. Muller, Richard A. (2008). "Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines". W.W. Norton & Co..
12. Teller, Edward. (1965). "Project Plowshare". Ohio State University.
13. (February 5, 2025). "Secretary Chris Wright Delivers Welcome Remarks to DOE Staff". [[United States Department of Energy.
14. Pinker, Steven. (Oct 4, 2008). "Everything You Heard Is Wrong".
15. Zwicky, Arnold. (March 21, 2005). "Axe a stupid question".
16. Nunberg, Geoffrey. (October 2, 2002). "Going Nucular".