detonate
verb
, ˈde-tə-ˌnāt\
Definition of detonate
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Other Words from detonate
, ˈde-tə-ˌnā- \
adjective
, ˈde-tə-ˌnā- \
adjective
Synonyms & Antonyms for detonate
Synonyms
blow, blow up, burst, crump, explode, go off, pop
Antonyms
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Examples of detonate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The operatives in the boats then likely removed their divers and detonated the bombs all within one hour of each other — before anyone knew what was happening. — Alexander Smith, NBC News, "Oil tanker sabotage likely the work of 'state actor,' investigation concludes," 7 June 2019 Then the hail of bombs hit the invasion coasts, smashing gun positions, detonating strings of mines, touching off a fury of explosions from blazing ammunition dumps, chewing up telephone communications. — Time, "Inside General Eisenhower’s Sleepless Night Ahead of the D-Day Invasion," 6 June 2019 The eight men and one woman who detonated bombs on Easter Sunday, killing themselves and more than 250 others, were a collection of Islamist radicals including a quiet truck driver and a foreign-educated engineer. — Ben Otto, WSJ, "Sri Lanka Identifies All Nine Easter Bombers," 1 May 2019 But what most empowers 19-year-old Marifer Culman Ortiz is detonating land mines. — Megan Janetsky, Teen Vogue, "Meet the Women Who Detonate Land Mines in Colombia’s Former War Zones," 24 Apr. 2019 Correction posted September 11, 2009 The original version of this story contained a reference to an attacker who detonated a suicide bomb near a Saudi prince, and said the man graduated from Saudi Arabia’s terrorism rehabilitation program. — The Christian Science Monitor, "Corrections," 4 Mar. 2019 Fifteen people were injured Thursday night when two men detonated an improvised explosive device inside an Indian restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario, Canadian authorities said. — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Explosion at Indian Restaurant in Canada Injures 15, 2 Men Wanted," 25 May 2018 In those attacks, the family's two young daughters, aged 9 and 12, were present when their mother detonated one of the bombs, and the couple's two teenage sons carried out a separate attack on another church. — Devianti Faridz And Euan Mckirdy, CNN, "Surabaya hit with another attack in wake of church bombings," 13 May 2018 But in the coming months, a fusion of granite, bronze, and glass will take shape there, memorials to mark the location where two bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon five years ago. — David Abel, BostonGlobe.com, "Islands up north? In New Brunswick, there’s plenty to explore," 12 Apr. 2018These 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.
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detonate
verb
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