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The threat of massive retaliation using nuclear weapons should a potential enemy use them first, both sides being annihilated in the event of war.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Qualifier: public policy
Topics: government, military, politics, war
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
A pun on "assured destruction" ("a highly reliable ability to inflict unacceptable damage ... even after absorbing a surprise first strike"), a term used in discussions of American nuclear strategy in the 1960s. Perhaps coined by Donald Brennan, conservative defense analyst and a public critic of the policy.
Across languages
Translations
16 source translations are retained for this English entry.
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Arabic:
دمار متبادل
— threat
-
Chinese Mandarin:
相互保證毀滅 /相互保证毁灭
(xiānghù bǎozhèng huǐmiè)
— threat
-
Dutch:
gegarandeerde wederzijdse vernietiging
— threat
-
Finnish:
molemminpuolinen varmistettu tuho
— threat
-
French:
destruction mutuelle assurée
— threat
-
German:
Gleichgewicht des Schreckens
— threat
-
Japanese:
相互確証破壊
(sōgo kakushō hakai)
— threat
-
Korean:
상호확증파괴
(sanghohwakjeungpagoe)
— threat
-
Korean:
상호확실파괴
(sanghohwaksilpagoe)
— threat
-
Persian:
نابودی قطعی متقابل
(nâbudi-ye qat'i-ye motaqâbel)
— threat
-
Polish:
wzajemne zagwarantowane zniszczenie
— threat
-
Romanian:
distrugere reciprocă asigurată
— threat
-
Russian:
взаимное гарантированное уничтожение
(vzaimnoje garantirovannoje uničtoženije)
— threat
-
Spanish:
destrucción mutua / mutual / recíproca asegurada
— threat
-
Turkish:
karşılıklı kesin yıkım
— threat
-
Vietnamese:
đảm bảo phá huỷ lẫn nhau
— threat