detonate

verb det·o·nate \ ˈde-tᵊn-ˌāt , ˈde-tə-ˌnāt \

Definition of detonate

detonated; detonating

intransitive verb

:to explode with sudden violence

transitive verb

1 :to cause to detonate

detonate a bomb

— compare deflagrate

2 :to set off in a burst of activity :spark

programs that detonated controversies

—

detonatable

play \-ˌā-tə-bəl, -ˌnā-\ adjective

—

detonative

play \ˈde-tᵊn-ˌā-tiv, ˈde-tə-ˌnā-\ adjective

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Examples of detonate in a Sentence

The first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.
the bomb detonated with a thunder that could be heard for blocks in all directions

Recent Examples of detonate from the Web

Officials detonate a blast on Henderson Street at the official groundbreaking of construction of the Panther Island Bridges in 2014.

— gordon dickson, star-telegram, "Part of Fort Worth’s Main Street to close as work revs up on Panther Island bridges," 17 Aug. 2017
But Trump’s belligerent response to the unrest in Virginia has detonated this slowly burning fuse.

— ronald brownstein, The Atlantic, "How Trump's Reaction to Charlottesville Threatens the GOP," 17 Aug. 2017
Federal officials arrested a man for his terrorist plot to detonate a bomb near a bank in downtown Oklahoma City early Saturday morning.

— malaika jabali, Essence.com, "Let's Remember That A White Man Attempted To Bomb An Oklahoma Bank This Week," 16 Aug. 2017
Authorities arrested an Oklahoma man Saturday morning for allegedly plotting to detonate a vehicle bomb in downtown Oklahoma City.

— breanna edwards, The Root, "Okla. Man Arrested in Plot to Detonate Vehicle Bomb in Downtown Oklahoma City," 14 Aug. 2017
A female suicide bomber killed 14 people, including herself, after detonating explosives in a building housing people displaced by Boko Haram violence in northeast Nigeria, according to a state rescue agency.

— michael olukayode, Bloomberg.com, "Nigeria Suicide Bombing Kills 14 in Housing Shelter: Aid Agency," 30 July 2017
Up to 35 people were killed in Kabul, Afghanistan, when a Taliban suicide bomber detonated a car bomb in the western part of the city.

— brittney mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Man With Chainsaw Injured at Least Five in Switzerland Attack," 24 July 2017
In 2009, AQAP sent Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, now known as the Underwear bomber, aboard an airliner headed to Detroit with the aim of detonating his explosives and killing everyone aboard.

— jennifer griffin, Fox News, "Trump foreign policy: American military increasingly involved in Yemen civil war," 29 June 2017
A senior Ukrainian military intelligence officer was killed when a bomb detonated under his car in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said, in an act the government is treating as terrorism.

— thomas grove, WSJ, "Senior Ukrainian Intelligence Officer Killed by Bomb in Kiev," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'detonate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of detonate

French détoner to explode, from Latin detonare to expend thunder, from de- + tonare to thunder — more at ¹thunder

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First Known Use: 1729

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detonate Synonyms

Synonyms

blow, blow up, burst, crump, explode, go off, pop

Antonyms

implode

Related Words

fragment, shatter, smash, splinter; discharge, fire, shoot; balloon, burgeon (also bourgeon), mushroom

Near Antonyms

collapse, fizzle

DETONATE Defined for English Language Learners

detonate

verb

Definition of detonate for English Language Learners

: to explode or to cause (something, such as a bomb) to explode

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detonate

Definition of detonate

detonatable

detonative

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detonate

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