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
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Recent Examples of blew up
In what could end up being the most disastrous setback in the history of Blue Origin, its massive launch vehicle blew up May 28 in a fiery blast that briefly colored the Florida sky orange and sent blazing fireballs cascading into the night.
—
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 29 May 2026
But the 321-foot rocket blew up, taking part of the pad with it.
—Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
In 2007, a big steam main by the Chanin Building, across from Grand Central, blew up right as a truck passed over, injuring dozens.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 22 May 2026
One of its original SKUs was its Underpainting Palette, named for her viral underpainting technique that blew up on TikTok.
—Rachel Burchfield, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Warren has some experience with covering over the past as happened when her phony claim of being a blue-eyed Native American Cherokee descendent blew up.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 14 May 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, 1 May 2026
The fifth commission for the plinth on the High Line elevated park is an homage to the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the pair of 6th-century colossi in central Afghanistan that the Taliban blew up in 2001.
—Benjamin Sutton, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026
That story blew up the baseball world for a little while, with questions raised about your reputation as a teammate and clubhouse presence.
—Annie Heilbrunn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 29 May 2026
But the 321-foot rocket blew up, taking part of the pad with it.
—Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
In 2007, a big steam main by the Chanin Building, across from Grand Central, blew up right as a truck passed over, injuring dozens.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 22 May 2026
One of its original SKUs was its Underpainting Palette, named for her viral underpainting technique that blew up on TikTok.
—Rachel Burchfield, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Warren has some experience with covering over the past as happened when her phony claim of being a blue-eyed Native American Cherokee descendent blew up.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 14 May 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, 1 May 2026
The fifth commission for the plinth on the High Line elevated park is an homage to the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the pair of 6th-century colossi in central Afghanistan that the Taliban blew up in 2001.
—Benjamin Sutton, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026
That story blew up the baseball world for a little while, with questions raised about your reputation as a teammate and clubhouse presence.
—Annie Heilbrunn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blew up
Verb
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Azmoun was dropped from coach Amir Ghalenoei’s squad in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the ongoing war with the United States and Israel.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
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Atletico were angered by Barcelona’s long pursuit of Antoine Griezmann, which saw Griezmann decide to stay in summer 2018 but move to the Camp Nou twelve months later.—
Ali Rampling,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Many of the companies have started offering GLP-1 medications for weight loss as demand for these drugs has exploded.—
Maia Rosenfeld,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
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More about the rocket that exploded, Blue Origin The rocket that exploded was Blue Origin's fourth New Glenn rocket and was supposed to be the vehicle to carry Blue Origin's lunar lander to orbit.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The former Iowa Hawkeyes star shattered scoring records in college, transformed women's basketball into a national phenomenon and has continued rewriting the WNBA record book since arriving in 2024.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
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The team features Megan Grant, the Bruins' two-sport athlete who shattered Lauren Espinoza's 31-year-old single-season home run record in the Big Ten Softball Tournament and extended it to 40 home runs, outlasting Oklahoma's Kendall Wells for the record.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Wondering if the talk about using eggshells in your garden is all it's cracked up to be?—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
24 Apr. 2026
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Is tofu all it's cracked up to be?—
Sam Woodward,
USA Today,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Sure enough, shortly after, a bomb was detonated at the checkpoint.—
Midhat Zwayen,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
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In April, the image of Christ’s betrayer was replaced by a 23-foot effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, detonated to the cheers of townspeople and tourists.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, a split-second later, the Brazilians — with nowhere to go — smashed into the back of the Italian boat.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
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Prosecutors argued at trial that Shirilla smashed into the building to end her toxic relationship with Russo, and Flanagan just happened to be along for the ride.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Hong Kong/Hangzhou — Stephen Curry announced a partnership for his signature brand with Li-Ning on Monday, ending his sneaker free agency in a major win for the Chinese sportswear giant.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
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The first image in the exhibition announced the playful tenor of the oversize works, which often verged on the ludic despite the lack of spontaneity owing to the cumbersome Land Camera.—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Verb
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An early morning Penn Station fire injured multiple people and snarled morning service between Newark and New York, upending commuter travel.—
Amethyst Martinez,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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Perhaps you got stuck in the mess last week when rush hour traffic was snarled by a tractor-trailer that got stuck on the concrete barrier at the intersection of Stanwix Street and Fort Pitt Boulevard.—
John Shumway,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blew up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blew%20up. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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