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explode

verb

ik-ˈsplōd How to pronounce explode (audio)
Definition of explodenext
1
as in to detonate
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure the building was wrecked when a powerful bomb exploded

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to shatter
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive the bomb was so powerful that it exploded windows in several neighboring buildings

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to erupt
to develop suddenly and violently the mayor's latest unpopular decision caused long-suppressed resentment to explode into open anger

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of explode Imports of the large computers used in AI servers have exploded over the past year. — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 4 Sep. 2026 Hugging Face — the AI company at the center of a hacking incident earlier this year that raised cybersecurity concerns — has exploded in popularity, now boasting 18 million users, providing an open-source hub for collaborative machine learning. — Jake Angelo, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2026 Local officials pick up where state left off The assembly kicked off a coordinated response to Ada County’s ongoing rat infestation, which has anecdotally exploded in the past several years. — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026 Three weeks before that, the director of a factory supplying drones to the Russian military was badly injured and his driver was killed when their car exploded just outside Yekaterinburg, 1,400 kilometers (about 870 miles) east of Moscow. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for explode
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explode
  1. detonate
  2. shatter
  3. erupt
  4. blow
  5. smash
  6. pop
  7. demolish
  8. burst
Verb
  • The tests confirmed that CycloRP could successfully detonate inside the engine.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Igor Kirillov, a general in charge of the Russian military’s nuclear and chemical weapons protection forces, was killed in December 2024 when an explosive device planted on a scooter was detonated near him.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of detonate
Verb
  • Last week a number of concerned mathematicians, many of them at the top of their subject, launched the Association for Human Mathematics (AHM)—an effort that was underway even before the earth-shattering Navier-Stokes news.
    — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Maya’s fear of commitment mirrors the film’s fear of showing us anything truly ugly or grappling with the idea that our heroine is one of many, many people who lost someone during a society-shattering number of years.
    — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of shatter
Verb
  • Anak Krakatau has erupted since late ⁠on Friday, with volcanic ash detected at the airport early on Sunday, the ​ministry said in a statement.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • As Morris hit the ground and the 57,000-plus yellow-and-green glad fans inside Autzen Stadium erupted, the Broncos’ fate was sealed.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of erupt
Verb
  • Scott Schaunaman, a Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department spokesperson, said the contractor accidentally bored into a six-inch, high-pressure gas line from 150 feet away, blowing open a portion of 10th Street.
    — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Fourteen of those storms originated in the East Pacific, which, with two and a half months of the season still to come, will likely blow past its average seasonal storm total of 15.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • Bayern smashed the record for goals in the Bundesliga last season, with 122 in the 34 matches.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Of the 2,977 people who perished on 9/11, 2,753 were lost in the collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center after two hijacked jetliners smashed into them.
    — Mike Kelly, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of smash
Verb
  • With no sign of this bubble popping just yet, the era of the big-money, intra-league transfer is here to stay.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Ocado sales of shandy have climbed by 40% year-on-year, said Rachel Dixon in The Guardian, and the drink is popping up in supermarkets everywhere.
    — Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of pop
Verb
  • Historical records show that about 500,000 bricks were sold after the convent was demolished, but Langkilde said a complex of its size could easily have contained twice that number.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The new 191,000-square-foot police station replaces one that was built in 1958 and demolished earlier this year.
    — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of demolish
Verb
  • The skins cling like wet T-shirts to the filling beneath, with each plump bundle nearly bursting with big, discernible chunks of shrimp and ground pork.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Heaps of plot aren’t required, of course, but one watches Color of the Sun with a constant itch for something to burst through the movie’s mannered stillness and liven up the picture.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of burst

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explicitness
explode
exploded
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Cite this Entry

“Explode.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explode. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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