Definition of "radioactive" []

• Of, exhibiting, or caused by radioactivity. (adjective)
• Informal Extremely sensitive or controversial: "Perhaps race is now too radioactive a topic, in an era of political correctness” ( David Nyhan). (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "NGUYEN: And hence the term radioactive, which you just referred to."
• "Nowadays we label radioactive stuff with a bright yellow trefoil rather than sip it during dinner."
• "In 1913 Richards had discovered that the atomic weight of natural lead and of that formed in radioactive decay of uranium minerals differ."