1
as in angered
to become very angry
she blew up at everybody after a very long and very bad day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in exploded
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure
the building blew up because of a gas leak
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in shattered
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive
blew up the biggest rocks and then cleared them away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in cracked up
to praise or publicize lavishly and often excessively
the advertisement blows the new soda up to the point where I half expected to be transported to a higher level of consciousness
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 blew up
The Ross explosion hit close to home for my family because the building that blew up used to be a Market Basket supermarket, where my father worked for years and my mother and I loyally shopped for groceries.
—
Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
One of those blew up on its landing attempt while another was purposefully expended to get its payload to a higher orbital insertion.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2026
The warehouse storing fireworks about 40 miles outside of Sacramento blew up on July 1 last year, killing seven people.
—Sacbee.com, 10 Mar. 2026
Olivia Colman, ‘The Favourite’ (2019) Director Yorgos Lanthimos blew up the stuffy period piece with this gonzo 18th-century comedy.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Their chemistry blew up on the superb 2024 album The Collective, her most startling — and fun — project in years.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2026
But the controversy blew up when on closing night, some prize-winners used their acceptance speeches to voice support for Palestine and Gaza.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 3 Mar. 2026
Things finally blew up for the app in the second to last episode, with founder Whitney (Max Minghella) in free fall and Harper primed for victory.
—Meg Walters, Glamour, 2 Mar. 2026
Some lawmakers see the influx of cash as a Band-Aid and want an audit to determine why the system blew up.
—CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
One of those blew up on its landing attempt while another was purposefully expended to get its payload to a higher orbital insertion.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2026
The warehouse storing fireworks about 40 miles outside of Sacramento blew up on July 1 last year, killing seven people.
—Sacbee.com, 10 Mar. 2026
Olivia Colman, ‘The Favourite’ (2019) Director Yorgos Lanthimos blew up the stuffy period piece with this gonzo 18th-century comedy.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
Their chemistry blew up on the superb 2024 album The Collective, her most startling — and fun — project in years.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2026
But the controversy blew up when on closing night, some prize-winners used their acceptance speeches to voice support for Palestine and Gaza.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 3 Mar. 2026
Things finally blew up for the app in the second to last episode, with founder Whitney (Max Minghella) in free fall and Harper primed for victory.
—Meg Walters, Glamour, 2 Mar. 2026
Some lawmakers see the influx of cash as a Band-Aid and want an audit to determine why the system blew up.
—CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blew up
Verb
-
Per The New York Times, lawyers told Judge Arun Subramanian in court on Monday that Live Nation and the DOJ settled on Thursday, which angered Subramanian as the judge hadn’t been briefed on the settlement Friday.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Vladimir, angered by this revelation because Cynthia is supposed to be sober, tackles him to the ground.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Carter sputtered early but exploded in the second and third quarters to run away with a 67-41 win.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Mar. 2026
-
While regional Mexican music has exploded internationally in recent years, Jacques acknowledges that norteñas and corridos tend to dominate the genre’s spotlight.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The command structure behind that network is now shattered.—
Andrew Ghalili,
Boston Herald,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Yet still, life went on in Etzatlán, until the sense of tranquility was shattered.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Here, Lauren Houser, vice president of marketing at cleaning solutions company Zep in Atlanta, Georgia, highlights six common hacks that really aren't all they're cracked up to be.—
Sarah Lyon,
Southern Living,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Leslie Jones once cracked up everyone at Saturday Night Live, including the top dog of the show.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The disaster led to an extensive decontamination effort to clean up nuclear material dispersed when conventional explosives in the hydrogen bombs detonated after hitting the ground.—
Kim Tong-Hyung,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
-
In Lebanon and parts of Syria, Israel detonated thousands of pagers of Hezbollah officials and bombed the group’s headquarters in southern Beirut, killing its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Will Gasparino leads the Bruins with 11 home runs so far this season, while top MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky has smashed eight homers.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Wearing hooded sweatshirts and full-face masks, the robbers ordered employees to one part of the room at gunpoint before two of them smashed the glass display cases with sledgehammers, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.—
Nick Sullivan
March 7,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The famed Magic City adult entertainment club won’t be featured at next week’s Atlanta Hawks promotional night, the NBA announced on Monday.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
To many people’s surprise, Sumerian, a newcomer to those lofty acquisition heights, had come out on top in a deal that was announced two weeks later during the Berlin Film Festival, where the movie had its international premiere.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Shipping lanes and timelines have been snarled for nearly two weeks after the United States and Israel carried out strikes on Iran, leading to delays around the Strait of Hormuz and surging oil prices.—
Rachel Lerman,
Washington Post,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Traffic became snarled in and around the Church Street entrance to the garage.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blew up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blew%20up. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
