superweapon
World-ending military device
A superweapon is a weapon of extraordinary destructive power, real or fictional.
Nuclear bombs are the archetypal superweapons.
In science fiction and video games, superweapons are often planet-destroying devices or doomsday machines: The rebels raced to destroy the superweapon before it could fire.
The term sometimes applies figuratively to any overwhelming advantage: Their offense is a superweapon.
Of atomic energy
- ICBMOcean-spanning nuclear delivery system
- warheadMunition's explosive section
- hydrogen bombThermonuclear fusion weapon
- thermonuclearInvolving nuclear fusion heat
ballistic missile · cruise missile · bunker buster · strategic · tactical · arsenal · WMD · payload
Futuristic fiction, abbreviated
- doomsday deviceHypothetical total annihilation weapon
- death rayLethal energy weapon
- plasmaElectrified matter state
- railgunElectromagnetic kinetic weapon
antimatter · laser · photon · singularity · disintegrator · vaporizer · mecha · kaiju
Utter, complete destruction
- apocalypseTotal civilizational collapse
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
- cataclysmViolent, large-scale disaster
mass destruction · fallout · mushroom cloud · blast radius · shockwave · ground zero · vaporization · incineration
Prevention via threatened consequences
- brinkmanshipPushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- escalationProgressive increase in intensity
- arms raceEscalating weapons accumulation between nations
- Cold WarProlonged East-West standoff
mutually assured destruction · nuclear option · ultimatum · sanctions · hegemony · superpower · dominance · proliferation
nuclear
Of atomic energy
- ICBMOcean-spanning nuclear delivery system
- warheadMunition's explosive section
- hydrogen bombThermonuclear fusion weapon
thermonuclear · ballistic missile · cruise missile · bunker buster · strategic · tactical · arsenal · WMD · payload · silo
sci-fi
Futuristic fiction, abbreviated
- doomsday deviceHypothetical total annihilation weapon
- death rayLethal energy weapon
- plasmaElectrified matter state
railgun · antimatter · laser · photon · singularity · disintegrator · vaporizer · mecha · kaiju · supervillain
annihilation
Utter, complete destruction
- apocalypseTotal civilizational collapse
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- obliterationTotal destruction or erasure
cataclysm · mass destruction · fallout · mushroom cloud · blast radius · shockwave · ground zero · vaporization · incineration · radiation
deterrence
Prevention via threatened consequences
- brinkmanshipPushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- escalationProgressive increase in intensity
- arms raceEscalating weapons accumulation between nations
Cold War · mutually assured destruction · nuclear option · ultimatum · sanctions · hegemony · superpower · dominance · proliferation · inspection
- "super" wordssuperhero, superstar, superman, superwoman, superpower
- Superweaponsnuclear bomb, atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, neutron bomb, thermonuclear bomb
- supervillainsJoker, Lex Luthor, Magneto, Doctor Doom, Thanos
superweaponpeashooter
Tube for blowing small projectiles
popgun · pea shooter · small arms · sidearm · toy gun
superweaponprimitive weapon
Early combat tool
club · stone axe · spear · bow and arrow · rock