as in to explode
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure
the bomb detonated with a thunder that could be heard for blocks in all directions
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Recent Examples of detonate
One of the men could be heard counting down to one, before an explosive device detonated.
—
Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Written by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, the film follows an airliner threatened by a bomb that will detonate if the plane drops below 4,000 feet.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 23 Apr. 2025
Music seizes the reins and detonates the studied historicity viewers expect from stories about 20th-century music, pausing to highlight points the reader normally catches in articles about a movie rather than scenes in it: Yes, the blues begat both DOOM and doom.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2025
Minutes later, the bombs inside the vehicle detonated, instantly crumbling the entire north side of the nine-story building and killing over 150 people.
—Alex Gurley, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detonate
Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Written by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, the film follows an airliner threatened by a bomb that will detonate if the plane drops below 4,000 feet.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 23 Apr. 2025
Music seizes the reins and detonates the studied historicity viewers expect from stories about 20th-century music, pausing to highlight points the reader normally catches in articles about a movie rather than scenes in it: Yes, the blues begat both DOOM and doom.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2025
Minutes later, the bombs inside the vehicle detonated, instantly crumbling the entire north side of the nine-story building and killing over 150 people.
—Alex Gurley, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detonate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonate
Verb
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Russia on Sunday fired a total of 273 exploding drones and decoys targeting Ukraine's Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, according to Ukraine’s air force.—
Greg Norman,
FOXNews.com,
19 May 2025
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American Reproductive Centers said Saturday in a post on Facebook that a vehicle had exploded in the parking lot near its Palm Springs facility earlier in the day.—
Joe Hernandez,
NPR,
18 May 2025
Verb
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In addition, strong winds over desert areas could result in briefly lowered visibilities to well under a mile at times in blowing dust or blowing sand.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 May 2025
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Those cops do more than blow whistles and bark signals.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
11 May 2025
Verb
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Short-sleeve shift dresses are popping up in multiple celebs’ wardrobes lately.—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
People.com,
17 May 2025
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Similar bazaars have been popping up here and there over the past year, often in the more affluent suburbs of the tristate area.—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detonate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonate. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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