blowing up

present participle of blow up
1
2
as in exploding
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 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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4

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 Amal Clooney was spotted at the Milan airport in an unexpected travel style that had the InStyle group chat blowing up. Eva Thomas, InStyle, 16 July 2026 And, more recently, Ukraine started blowing up Russian energy facilities. David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 July 2026 The Joker, dressed as a nurse, blowing up Gotham General Hospital. Randy Myers, Mercury News, 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 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 And to be thrown into now this separation and exploding, blowing up her family this way. Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 21 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
Verb
  • Balloons float above an exploding castle, a giant peeks from behind the bushes and wizards throw flames in the foreground.
    Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 July 2026
  • Unsurprisingly, this took a few attempts to get right—resulting in three vacuum tubes exploding.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 July 2026
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
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
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
Verb
  • Brown says the firm also explored investing in an Israeli start-up developing underground munitions capable of tunneling beneath targets before detonating, but that deal ultimately fell through.
    Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 22 July 2026
  • The video shows these drones flying into the Russian positions and detonating their payloads during the assault.
    Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • This actor, Yannis Kokiasmenos, came in for half a day and is holding his own, smashing this scene.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 July 2026
  • Then, in minute 105, Spain finally broke through with midfielder Ferran Torres smashing one into the net off a deflection.
    Tom Tapp, Deadline, 19 July 2026
Verb
  • Creator Patrick Horvath and publisher IDW are announcing the title and giving a first look Saturday at a San Diego Comic-Con panel discussing horror in comics.
    Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2026
  • On Friday, police released a photo of Jerry Saint Vil, 26, announcing he was wanted for murder and urging anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact the Miramar Police Department.
    Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 25 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Blowing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blowing%20up. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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