as in popped
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in exploded
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Recent Examples of detonated
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
An Israeli air force official said that for the first time, a Houthi missile contained a number of sub-munitions, which were intended to be detonated upon impact.
—Eyad Kourdi, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
When in range, the fire command was given and the Claymore detonated.
—New Atlas, 24 Aug. 2025
Now, remember that the Hiroshima bomb detonated at about 650 meters in the air, and the speed of sound is 343 meters per second.
—Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
Alberta’s 2001 Chisholm fire released so much energy that someone in Washington thought that Canada had detonated a nuclear bomb.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
A lot depends on how close to the facility any of the bombs detonated.
—Samuel Granados, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
An estimated 60,000 died in the single blast in Hiroshima, and about 40,000 more died three days later when a similar bomb was detonated over Nagasaki.
—Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 7 Aug. 2025
The first nuclear weapon was detonated in secret at Alamogordo Bombing Range in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, inaugurating the Atomic Age.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
In September 2024, Israel blew up the group’s pagers, causing gruesome injuries as the devices detonated in Hezbollah operatives’ pockets.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
An Israeli air force official said that for the first time, a Houthi missile contained a number of sub-munitions, which were intended to be detonated upon impact.
—Eyad Kourdi, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
When in range, the fire command was given and the Claymore detonated.
—New Atlas, 24 Aug. 2025
Now, remember that the Hiroshima bomb detonated at about 650 meters in the air, and the speed of sound is 343 meters per second.
—Kevin Dickinson, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025
Alberta’s 2001 Chisholm fire released so much energy that someone in Washington thought that Canada had detonated a nuclear bomb.
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
A lot depends on how close to the facility any of the bombs detonated.
—Samuel Granados, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
An estimated 60,000 died in the single blast in Hiroshima, and about 40,000 more died three days later when a similar bomb was detonated over Nagasaki.
—Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 7 Aug. 2025
The first nuclear weapon was detonated in secret at Alamogordo Bombing Range in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, inaugurating the Atomic Age.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonated
Verb
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The streets of Boise exploded in a burst of color and music on Sunday as the Boise Pride Parade swept down River Street.—
Sally Krutzig,
Idaho Statesman,
8 Sep. 2025
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As large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-3 and GPT-4 exploded onto the scene, students and teaching assistants alike began questioning whether assessments ought to be handled differently.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Ripley spent four movies trying to keep the blasted things off our home world, but those pesky Xenomorphs are coming planetside anyway in Alien: Earth, the new Alien TV series.—
Ian Stokes,
Space.com,
12 Aug. 2025
-
Her ballerina background, however, is fairly extraneous, even with De Armas made to stare solemnly at that blasted music box during her rare moments of rest.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
Verb
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Brinker International — The parent company of Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy popped 4% following an upgrade to outperform from in line from Evercore ISI.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
4 Sep. 2025
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The advisories and closures popped up across the East Coast, from Florida to Maine, along inland streams and rivers, and were present throughout the California coast.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The scenes were shown in season 1 episode 2, when Billy Bob Thornton’s character goes to the hospital for a smashed finger.—
Brayden Garcia
July 10,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 July 2025
-
Video from the crash site showed a silver Infiniti SUV with damage to the hood and a smashed windshield.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
5 May 2025
Verb
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The Cleveland Browns blew both a golden opportunity at what would’ve been the surprise upset of Week 1 and a chance to add to the Cincinnati Bengals’ early-season misery of the past few years.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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On a 3rd and 1, Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt got a first down with the help of Kelce blocking on the line, but the tight end blocked a little bit longer after the whistle blew.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Henry is broken, a shattered man, and there might not be any way to put him back together again.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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Jorma Taccone, the Lonely Island member and former Saturday Night Live writer, suffered a shattered pelvis and a detached sacrum in a 20-foot fall from a ladder at his farmhouse in Connecticut.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detonated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonated. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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