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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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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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 But more than that, the mill blowing up just couldn’t be possible. — Ethan Brooks, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026 After flying for about an hour halfway around the world, the upper-stage portion of the Starship vehicle managed to land intact in the Indian Ocean – without blowing up. — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 29 July 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for blowing up

Verb

The 5 Freeway was initially closed in both directions around the fire, snarling rush hour traffic.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026
Like a scary transformation in a horror movie, the lovable beaver has morphed into a snarling predator.

— Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of snarling

Verb

Those reforms led to huge reduction in poverty, an exploding middle class and a scramble by foreign companies to access the lucrative Chinese market.

— CNN Staff, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
The Tremont fire comes just days after an exploding Tesla in Seattle sent two firefighters to the hospital.

— Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of exploding

Verb

In 2018 a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 fan blade snapped, shattering a window and sucking a woman’s head and torso outside of the plane.

— Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Ace protected the three deputies from Bowers but was shot in his left front leg, shattering the bone and tearing an artery that caused massive blood loss.

— Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 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

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich faces a fight for political survival in elections in October after angering his fellow West Bank settlers by voting not to punish ultra-Orthodox Jews who refuse to serve in the military.

— Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
And the thousandth cut came when Raman launched her mayoral campaign without first consulting the local DSA chapter, angering organizers who felt the race stretched their resources too thin.

— Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026

Definition of angering

Verb

Just weeks before her confrontation with Cunningham, Carrington sent shockwaves through the WNBA by publicly detonating her former relationship on social media.

— Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Anvil is a smaller, faster aircraft designed to destroy hostile drones by colliding with them or detonating nearby.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of detonating

Verb

Nick Loftin then doubled in the third before Caglianone hit his 21st homer of the season to right, smashing a hanging slider for a 410-foot shot that induced grumbles from the stands.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
The Public Defender's Office said Govindbhai, without double-checking the plate numbers, walked to the driver's side door and struck the window with his baton four times, smashing the glass.

— Jose Fabian, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of smashing

Verb

After Bobby Valli, the Four Season singer’s brother, recently posted a Facebook message announcing the ailing Frankie’s retirement, the 92-year-old pop icon slapped back.

— Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2026
Prince William and Kate Middleton were together for nine years before announcing their engagement on November 16, 2010.

— Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 14 Aug. 2026