RADIATION

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does radiation mean? 

• RADIATION (noun)
  The noun RADIATION has 7 senses:

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

2. the act of spreading outward from a central source

3. 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

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

5. the spread of a group of organisms into new habitats

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

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

  Familiarity information: RADIATION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RADIATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("radiation" is a kind of...):

energy; free energy ((physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "radiation"):

ionizing radiation (high-energy radiation capable of producing ionization in substances through which it passes)

cosmic radiation (radiation coming from outside the solar system)

electromagnetic radiation; electromagnetic wave; nonparticulate radiation (radiation consisting of waves of energy associated with electric and magnetic fields resulting from the acceleration of an electric charge)

solar radiation (radiation from the sun)

Derivation:

radiate (send out rays or waves)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of spreading outward from a central source

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("radiation" is a kind of...):

emanation; emission (the act of emitting; causing to flow forth)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "radiation"):

bombardment (the act (or an instance) of subjecting a body or substance to the impact of high-energy particles (as electrons or alpha rays))

Derivation:

radiate (extend or spread outward from a center or focus or inward towards a center)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

radiation; radiation sickness; radiation syndrome

Context example:

he was suffering from radiation

Hypernyms ("radiation" is a kind of...):

syndrome (a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease)

Sense 4

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

radiation; radioactivity

Hypernyms ("radiation" is a kind of...):

emission (the release of electrons from parent atoms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "radiation"):

corpuscular radiation; particulate radiation (a stream of atomic or subatomic particles that may be charged positively (e.g. alpha particles) or negatively (e.g. beta particles) or not at all (e.g. neutrons))

Sense 5

Meaning:

The spread of a group of organisms into new habitats

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("radiation" is a kind of...):

spread; spreading (process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space)

action; activity; natural action; natural process (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "radiation"):

adaptive radiation (the development of many different forms from an originally homogeneous group of organisms as they fill different ecological niches)

Derivation:

radiate (spread into new habitats and produce variety or variegate)

Sense 6

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("radiation" is a kind of...):

neural structure (a structure that is part of the nervous system)

Derivation:

radiate (extend or spread outward from a center or focus or inward towards a center)

Sense 7

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

actinotherapy; irradiation; radiation; radiation therapy; radiotherapy

Hypernyms ("radiation" is a kind of...):

therapy ((medicine) the act of caring for someone (as by medication or remedial training etc.))

Domain category:

medical specialty; medicine (the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "radiation"):

phototherapy (the use of strong light to treat acne or hyperbilirubinemia of the newborn)

Curietherapy; radium therapy (the use of radium in radiation therapy)

X-ray therapy (the therapeutic use of X rays)

 Context examples 

The absorbed dose for a subject that results from ingestion of sources of radiation that reside throughout the subject over time.

(Medical Internal Radiation Dose, NCI Thesaurus)

This designates energy deposition by the radiation without regard to the type of matter or any biological considerations.

(Absorbed Radiation Dose, NCI Thesaurus)

Treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplants, and targeted therapy.

(Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Understanding the processes that convert these waves tells us how the charged particles in radiation belts are distributed, and how they can impact our satellites.

(Scientists deepen understanding of magnetic fields that surround Earth, National Science Foundation)

It is also being studied in the treatment of side effects from whole-brain radiation therapy for cancer and other conditions.

(Memantine hydrochloride, NCI Dictionary)

Treatment may include surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy.

(Mesothelioma, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Treatments include chemotherapy, other drugs, radiation therapy, stem cell transplants, and targeted therapy.

(Acute Myeloid Leukemia, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Therapy that uses one type of treatment, such as radiation therapy or surgery alone, to treat a certain disease or condition.

(Monotherapy, NCI Dictionary)

A type of radiation therapy given only to the part of the breast that has cancer in it.

(Accelerated partial-breast irradiation, NCI Dictionary)

A regimen containing doxorubicin hydrochloride, bleomycin sulfate, vincristine sulfate and etoposide used in combination with radiation therapy for the treatment of low-risk, childhood Hodgkin lymphoma.

(ABVE regimen, NCI Thesaurus)