BLOWING UP Synonyms: 115 Similar and Opposite Words

blowing up

verb

present participle of blow up

as in flaring (up)

to become very angry she blew up at everybody after a very long and very bad day

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in exploding

to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure the building blew up because of a gas leak

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in shattering

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in cracking 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

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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 blowing up And, more recently, Ukraine started blowing up Russian energy facilities. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 July 2026 Curry Barker’s world and the way YouTubers are blowing up the box office. — Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 Ripley was honored for a heroic effort to halt the advance of North Vietnamese forces by blowing up a crucial bridge in 1972. — Arkansas Online, 20 June 2026 Ripley was honored for a heroic effort to halt the advance of North Vietnamese forces by blowing up a crucial bridge in 1972. — ABC News, 18 June 2026 Navarrette is blowing up right now. — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 17 June 2026 SpaceX has been blowing up Starship rockets left and right, and the space nerds seem to be cheering them on. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026 At the time, teen powerhouses like Aaliyah, Brandy, and Monica were blowing up the charts and Interscope was hoping Mýa could be their own proverbial cash cow. — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 18 May 2026 About to hit rock bottom, Peter is therefore oblivious to the +44 numbers that are blowing up his phone, until the caller — a British clubber called Edison (the fantastic Kirby Howell-Baptiste) — arrives on his doorstep. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 15 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for blowing up

Verb

Just like in the darnkess cave, the snarling machine gun of thoughts—unanswered emails, to-dos, and angst about my 17 year old’s plans to travel the world alone—slowly fell silent.

— Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 20 July 2026
Meanwhile, Argentina is a snarling team full of passion-merchants.

— Ben Church, CNN Money, 16 July 2026

Definition of snarling

Verb

Instead, the forward now picks his moments, strolling around the pitch to find space and then exploding into action.

— Ben Church, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
In late May, about 50,000 people in Orange County were evacuated because, at a Garden Grove site operated by GKN Aerospace, tanks holding a volatile hazardous chemical called methyl methacrylate were at risk of exploding or leaking toxics.

— Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Definition of exploding

Verb

The tax, generally considered a barometer of the tourist industry’s health, has been on a 14-month tear, shattering all monthly revenue records and outpacing the rosiest of predictions by its closest followers.

— Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 July 2026
While the franchise dates way back to gaming’s 16-bit era, its most recent release, 2020’s Streets of Rage 4, hit like a jaw-shattering Grand Hook with critics and fans alike.

— Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026

Definition of shattering

Verb

Mark Toothaker, a stallion sales manager for Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, was on the couch cracking up with his wife, Malory, about the whiffed field goal and consequential turnover.

— Kelly O'Grady, CBS News, 3 May 2026
The dogs were confused, not sure whether to attack or run for cover, and Susan was cracking up.

— Sid Evans, Southern Living, 18 Feb. 2026

Definition of cracking up

Verb

Leaders of the Maine Democratic Party are still working toward a process to replace Graham Platner, without angering his supporters.

— Dan Merica, Washington Post, 9 July 2026
The mayor floated the idea to place Williams on probation for six months, angering the city manager’s supporters in the crowd.

— Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026

Definition of angering

Verb

To put it simply—detonating nuclear weapons in space can be as disastrous as detonating them on Earth.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 July 2026
Many older interceptor missiles use blast-fragmentation warheads, detonating near the incoming missile and destroying it with high-speed metal fragments.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026

Definition of detonating

Verb

Newsom raised $250,000 for his Campaign For Democracy PAC after asking supporters for donations to shore up his legal defense, hours after announcing the DOJ probe on June 15.

— Lia Russell July 17, Sacbee.com, 18 July 2026
By announcing his intentions months out, Kerr enabled FloSports—and other media outlets ranging from the BBC to The Athletic and beyond—to build coverage in anticipation of the race, which in turn gives Kerr and his sponsor Brooks more exposure.

— Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 17 July 2026