Standard Lemma guide

radiation

noun · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Canada, UK, US: /ˌɹeɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/
  • London: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Texas: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˌɹæɪ.diˈæɪ.ʃən/
  • /ɹæ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/ some Ghanaian speakers
  • CMU ARPABET: R EY2 D IY0 EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The shooting forth of anything from a point or surface, like diverging rays of light.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The radiation of love from the crowd was addictive to the young singer-songwriters.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The shooting forth of anything from a point or surface, like diverging rays of light.

Ellipsis of electromagnetic radiation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, often, uncountable

Examples

  • heat radiation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: EMR

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The process of radiating waves or particles.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The transfer of energy via radiation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Radioactive energy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A rapid diversification of an ancestral species into many new forms.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Qualifier: evolutionary theory

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

(medicine) the treatment of disease (especially cancer) by exposure to a radioactive substance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: radiotherapy, radiation therapy, actinotherapy, irradiation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: therapy

Narrower terms: phototherapy, radium therapy, Curietherapy, X-ray therapy

8

noun

Meaning 8

the act of spreading outward from a central source

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: emission, emanation

Narrower terms: bombardment

9

noun

Meaning 9

a radial arrangement of nerve fibers connecting different parts of the brain

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: neural structure

10

noun

Meaning 10

the spread of a group of organisms into new habitats

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spread, spreading, natural process, natural action, action, activity

Narrower terms: adaptive radiation

11

noun

Meaning 11

energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: energy, free energy

Narrower terms: ionizing radiation, cosmic radiation, electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic wave, nonparticulate radiation, solar radiation

12

noun

Meaning 12

the spontaneous emission of a stream of particles or electromagnetic rays in nuclear decay

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: radioactivity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: emission

Narrower terms: corpuscular radiation, particulate radiation

13

noun

Meaning 13

syndrome resulting from exposure to ionizing radiation (e.g., exposure to radioactive chemicals or to nuclear explosions); low doses cause diarrhea and nausea and vomiting and sometimes loss of hair; greater exposure can cause sterility and cataracts and some forms of cancer and other diseases; severe exposure can cause death within hours

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he was suffering from radiation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: radiation sickness, radiation syndrome

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: syndrome

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin radiatio, radiationis. By surface analysis, radiate + -ion.

Across languages

Translations

205 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: rrezatim — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Arabic: إِشْعَاع (ʔišʕāʕ) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Armenian: ճառագայթում (čaṙagaytʻum) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Belarusian: выпрамяне́нне (vypramjanjénnje) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Catalan: radiació — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Chinese Mandarin: 放射 (fàngshè) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Chinese Mandarin: 輻射 /辐射 (fúshè) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Dutch: straling — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Finnish: säteily — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • French: radiation — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Georgian: გამოსხივება (gamosxiveba) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Georgian: სხივთფენა (sxivtpena) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • German: Strahlung — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Hungarian: radiáció — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Hungarian: sugárzás — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Hungarian: kisugárzás — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Indonesian: radiasi — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Italian: radiazione — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Japanese: 放射 (hōsha) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Japanese: 輻射 (fukusha) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Korean: 방사 (bangsa) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Korean: 폭사 (poksa) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Malay: sinaran — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Māori: whitinga — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Māori: tūhekenga — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Māori: hihinga — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Norwegian Bokmål: utstråling — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Persian: تابش (tâbeš) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Polish: promieniowanie — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Portuguese: irradiação — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Portuguese: radiação — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Romanian: radiație — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Russian: излуче́ние (izlučénije) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Serbo-Croatian: радија́ција — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Serbo-Croatian: зра́че̄ње — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Serbo-Croatian: radijácija — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Serbo-Croatian: zráčēnje — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Slovene: sévanje — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Slovene: žárčenje — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Spanish: radiación — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Swedish: strålning — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Swedish: utstrålning — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Tagalog: ninag — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Tagalog: radyasyon — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Ukrainian: випромі́нювання (vypromínjuvannja) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Ukrainian: випромі́нення (vypromínennja) — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Vietnamese: phóng xạ — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Vietnamese: bức xạ — shooting forth of anything from a point or surface
  • Albanian: rrezatim — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Armenian: ճառագայթում (čaṙagaytʻum) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Belarusian: выпрамяне́нне (vypramjanjénnje) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Bulgarian: излъ́чване (izlǎ́čvane) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Bulgarian: радиа́ция (radiácija) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Catalan: radiació — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Chinese Mandarin: 輻射 /辐射 (fúshè) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Czech: záření — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Dutch: straling — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Finnish: säteilytys — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Finnish: säteilyttäminen — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Georgian: გამოსხივება (gamosxiveba) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Georgian: რადიაცია (radiacia) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • German: Strahlung — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Hungarian: sugárzás — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Indonesian: radiasi — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Italian: radiazione — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Kazakh: сәулелендіру (säulelendıru) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Northern Kurdish: tîrojdan — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Māori: whitinga — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stråling — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Polish: promieniowanie — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Portuguese: radiação — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Russian: излуче́ние (izlučénije) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Serbo-Croatian: радија́ција — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Serbo-Croatian: зра́че̄ње — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Serbo-Croatian: radijácija — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Serbo-Croatian: zráčēnje — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Slovene: sévanje — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Slovene: žárčenje — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Spanish: radiación — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Swedish: strålning — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Tagalog: radyasyon — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Tagalog: dagalat — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Turkish: ışınım — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Ukrainian: випромі́нювання (vypromínjuvannja) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Ukrainian: випромі́нення (vypromínennja) — process of radiating waves or particles
  • Armenian: ճառագայթում (čaṙagaytʻum) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Belarusian: выпрамяне́нне (vypramjanjénnje) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Bulgarian: излъ́чване (izlǎ́čvane) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Catalan: radiació — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 輻射 /辐射 (fúshè) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Czech: sálání — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Danish: varmestråling — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Finnish: säteily — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Georgian: გამოსხივება (gamosxiveba) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Georgian: რადიაცია (radiacia) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Indonesian: radiasi — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Italian: irraggiamento — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Māori: whitinga — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stråling — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Polish: promieniowanie — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Russian: излуче́ние (izlučénije) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Serbo-Croatian: радија́ција — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Serbo-Croatian: зра́че̄ње — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Serbo-Croatian: radijácija — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Serbo-Croatian: zráčēnje — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Slovene: sévanje — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Slovene: žárčenje — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Spanish: radiación — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Swedish: strålning — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Tagalog: radyasyon — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Tagalog: dagalat — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Ukrainian: випромі́нювання (vypromínjuvannja) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Ukrainian: випромі́нення (vypromínennja) — transfer of energy via radiation
  • Albanian: rrezatim — radioactive energy
  • Albanian: rrezatim radioaktiv — radioactive energy
  • Arabic: إِشْعَاع (ʔišʕāʕ) — radioactive energy
  • Armenian: ճառագայթում (čaṙagaytʻum) — radioactive energy
  • Azerbaijani: şüalanma — radioactive energy
  • Azerbaijani: radiasiya — radioactive energy
  • Belarusian: радыя́цыя (radyjácyja) — radioactive energy
  • Belarusian: выпрамяне́нне (vypramjanjénnje) — radioactive energy
  • Bulgarian: радиа́ция (radiácija) — radioactive energy
  • Bulgarian: лъче́ние (lǎčénie) — radioactive energy
  • Catalan: radiació — radioactive energy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 放射 (fàngshè) — radioactive energy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 輻射 /辐射 (fúshè) — radioactive energy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 放射性能量 (fàngshèxìng néngliàng) — radioactive energy
  • Czech: záření — radioactive energy
  • Czech: radiace — radioactive energy
  • Danish: stråling — radioactive energy
  • Dutch: straling — radioactive energy
  • Esperanto: radiado — radioactive energy
  • Estonian: kiirgus — radioactive energy
  • Estonian: radiatsioon — radioactive energy
  • Finnish: säteily — radioactive energy
  • French: radiation — radioactive energy
  • French: rayonnement — radioactive energy
  • Georgian: რადიაცია (radiacia) — radioactive energy
  • Georgian: გამოსხივება (gamosxiveba) — radioactive energy
  • German: Strahlung — radioactive energy
  • German: Radiation — radioactive energy
  • Greek: ακτινοβολία (aktinovolía) — radioactive energy
  • Hebrew: קְרִינָה — radioactive energy
  • Hindi: विकिरण (vikiraṇ) — radioactive energy
  • Hungarian: sugárzás — radioactive energy
  • Indonesian: radiasi — radioactive energy
  • Italian: radiazione — radioactive energy
  • Japanese: 放射 (hōsha) — radioactive energy
  • Kazakh: радиация (radiasiä) — radioactive energy
  • Kazakh: шығару (şyğaru) — radioactive energy
  • Khmer: រស្មី (rĕəʼsməy) — radioactive energy
  • Korean: 방사 (bangsa) — radioactive energy
  • Kyrgyz: радиация (radiatsiya) — radioactive energy
  • Lao: ລັງສີ (lang sī) — radioactive energy
  • Latvian: starojums — radioactive energy
  • Latvian: radiācija — radioactive energy
  • Lithuanian: spinduliuotė — radioactive energy
  • Lithuanian: radiacija — radioactive energy
  • Lithuanian: spinduliavimas — radioactive energy
  • Macedonian: радијација (radijacija) — radioactive energy
  • Macedonian: зрачење (zračenje) — radioactive energy
  • Malay: sinaran — radioactive energy
  • Māori: parawhiti — radioactive energy
  • Māori: iraruke — radioactive energy
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stråling — radioactive energy
  • Persian: پرتو (partow) — radioactive energy
  • Polish: promieniowanie — radioactive energy
  • Polish: radiacja — radioactive energy
  • Portuguese: radiação — radioactive energy
  • Romanian: radiație — radioactive energy
  • Russian: радиа́ция (radiácija) — radioactive energy
  • Russian: излуче́ние (izlučénije) — radioactive energy
  • Scottish Gaelic: rèididheachd — radioactive energy
  • Serbo-Croatian: радија́ција — radioactive energy
  • Serbo-Croatian: зра́че̄ње — radioactive energy
  • Serbo-Croatian: radijácija — radioactive energy
  • Serbo-Croatian: zráčēnje — radioactive energy
  • Slovak: žiarenie — radioactive energy
  • Slovak: radiácia — radioactive energy
  • Slovene: sévanje — radioactive energy
  • Slovene: žárčenje — radioactive energy
  • Slovene: radiacija — radioactive energy
  • Spanish: radiación — radioactive energy
  • Swahili: mnururisho — radioactive energy
  • Swedish: strålning — radioactive energy
  • Tagalog: radyasyon — radioactive energy
  • Tagalog: dagilap — radioactive energy
  • Tajik: радиатсия (radiatsiya) — radioactive energy
  • Tajik: афканишот (afkanišot) — radioactive energy
  • Tajik: партав (partav) — radioactive energy
  • Tamil: கதிர்வீச்சு (katirvīccu) — radioactive energy
  • Thai: รังสี (rang-sǐi) — radioactive energy
  • Turkish: radyasyon — radioactive energy
  • Turkmen: radiasiýa — radioactive energy
  • Ukrainian: радіа́ція (radiácija) — radioactive energy
  • Ukrainian: випромі́нювання (vypromínjuvannja) — radioactive energy
  • Ukrainian: випромі́нення (vypromínennja) — radioactive energy
  • Uzbek: radiatsiya — radioactive energy
  • Uzbek: nurlanish — radioactive energy
  • Vietnamese: phóng xạ — radioactive energy
  • Chinese Mandarin: 輻射演化 /辐射演化 (fúshè yǎnhuà) — diversification of an ancestral species
  • Chinese Mandarin: 適應輻射 /适应辐射 (shìyìng fúshè) — diversification of an ancestral species
  • Finnish: lajien levittäytyminen — diversification of an ancestral species
  • German: Radiation — diversification of an ancestral species
  • German: Auffächerung — diversification of an ancestral species
Real reading context

radiation in complete knowledge articles