near-nuclearadj.n.
/ˌnɪəˈn(j)uːklɪə/, U.S. /ˈnɪrˈn(j)uklɪ(ə)r/ A. adj.
Of or designating nations which do not possess nuclear weapons, but which are believed to have, or to be close to having, the capacity to make them.
ΚΠ
1966 Economist 16 July 230 (heading) Open door closing: is there still a chance of a non-proliferation treaty of a kind the near-nuclear states would accept?
1975 Times 5 May 7/1 37 more have not even signed [the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]—including..a number of near-nuclear countries like Argentina, Brazil, India, Israel, Pakistan and South Africa.
1991 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 27 Dec. 21 This was also the year that we stopped a near-nuclear dictator before he could take over the world's oil supply.
2003 Hindu (Electronic ed.) 14 June A nuclear or near-nuclear North Korea needs a multilateral and dialogue approach rather than any firmer action.
B. n.
A near-nuclear nation. Frequently in plural.
ΚΠ
1967 Times 21 Feb. 4/3 The disarmament conference resumes its new session at Geneva today with the..prospect..of varied and insistent objections from the ‘near-nuclears’—Germany and India, in particular.
1985 Guardian (Nexis) 26 Aug. Nato signatories would prefer to concentrate on reinforcing the treaty provisions against transfer of nuclear materials to prevent the ‘near-nuclears’ from perfecting the capacity they possess.
1995 Internat. Affairs 71 148 The future is about how the strong (for example, France) might cope with the weak (e.g., any number of current near-nuclears).
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1966