1
as in scene
an outburst or display of excited anger
the boss had another blowup when someone fouled up the copy machine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to anger
to become very angry
she blew up at everybody after a very long and very bad day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to detonate
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 to smash
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 to crack 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 blowup
Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
The pinball blowup occurred at a moment when trans people face an increasingly hostile environment in the United States, particularly in sports.
—Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 31 Jan. 2026
Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2026
Winds at Tahoe may blow up to 40 mph, with the gusts at the ridgetop reaching 80-100 mph.
—Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for blowup
Noun
Having an enormous blowup has never kept Taylor and Dakota from hooking up before.
—Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2026
The pinball blowup occurred at a moment when trans people face an increasingly hostile environment in the United States, particularly in sports.
—Jo Yurcaba, NBC news, 31 Jan. 2026
Verb
All the bridge crossings have been blown up.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2026
Winds at Tahoe may blow up to 40 mph, with the gusts at the ridgetop reaching 80-100 mph.
—Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for blowup
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blowup
Noun
-
Students walk past paintings of historical scenes that include Betsy Ross sewing an American flag and down hallways lined with portraits of the Founding Fathers.—
Lauren Lumpkin,
Washington Post,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The two are so silly, so loopily in synch, that the scene, which occurs halfway through the second act, lifts the entire show, giving it a buoyancy that has been lacking during its exposition-heavy beginning.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That person belongs to a different time, to a different town and to people who cannot be expected to remain the same, any more than the slopes of a volcano can be expected to still be molten rock an eon after the last eruption.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2026
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Major eruptions of pushback against Meta include the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, when the unauthorized harvesting of personal data from up to 87 million Facebook users was used for political advertising, adding to criticisms that the site pushes divisive and extreme political content.—
Ryan Cormier,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Separate blockades from haulers and farmers angered by the rising diesel prices have also shut down large swathes of the country’s highways, causing five days of disruption.—
Dalia Abdelwahab,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The mayor's threat to raise property taxes unless Albany agrees to tax the rich angered City Council Speaker Julie Menin.—
Marcia Kramer,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The court sided with a soldier who was badly injured when a Taliban operative working at the Bagram Airfield detonated a suicide bomb.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Authorities determined that an explosive device had been brought aboard the aircraft, likely concealed in a radio, and detonated shortly after takeoff.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Lyrids are known for producing bright, fast-moving meteors that tend to lack persistent trails, but have the potential to spawn spectacular fireballs as larger chunks of Comet Thatcher smash into Earth's atmosphere.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
9 Apr. 2026
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In footage shared by the BBC on X, Medvedev, who suffered a 6-0 6-0 loss during the 49-minute match, was filmed smashing up his tennis racket six times and angrily tossing it across the court.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Sunny got her famous father to crack up during her cameo on a Brooklyn, New York, taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live!—
Kate Hogan,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Grace’s life starts to crack up and fall apart, and that is, of course, part of the adventure of being young and irresponsible.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Among agonized grunts and huffs, Probst narrated the fumbles.—
Sarah Grant,
New Yorker,
2 Feb. 2026
-
David walks out of the kitchen and Moira huffs and takes his spot over the pot.—
Sabrina Weiss,
PEOPLE,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The arraignment continues for six out of the eight people arrested in connection with the Esparto explosion that killed seven men.—
Kayla Moeller,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The video allowed researchers to calculate the trajectory of the missile flying uncharacteristically low and match it with other reports of explosions, Lair said.—
Jane Lytvynenko,
NBC news,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blowup.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blowup. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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