as in exploding
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 detonating
Douville later learned that the trees around him were literally cracking apart, detonating from the inside.
—
Owen Clarke, Outside, 23 Jan. 2026
In a post on Telegram, Kiper said a two-story residential building was damaged and that a drone hit an apartment on the 17th floor of a high-rise building without detonating.
—Illia Novikov, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Jayme Thornton Crossfire’s approach of detonating water balloons in midair—which has yet to be patented so the team would not describe it in detail—could eventually change the calculation about how much suppressant is needed to fight fires.
—IEEE Spectrum, 24 Dec. 2025
That was most evident with the two brothers who orchestrated the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, detonating two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
—Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
Ships are on sanctions list Naval drones are uncrewed speed boats packed with explosives that sail towards their targets before detonating.
—Reuters, NBC news, 30 Nov. 2025
Poseidon had been described as a doomsday weapon that is designed to create a massive radioactive tsunami by detonating near coastal targets.
—Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2025
In between detonating bombs hidden in Christmas presents and disfiguring the entire police force, Art sets his sights on the Shaw family.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Russia will test a new laser system designed to take out mines without detonating the explosive devices, state media reported on Thursday.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Owen Clarke, Outside, 23 Jan. 2026
In a post on Telegram, Kiper said a two-story residential building was damaged and that a drone hit an apartment on the 17th floor of a high-rise building without detonating.
—Illia Novikov, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Jayme Thornton Crossfire’s approach of detonating water balloons in midair—which has yet to be patented so the team would not describe it in detail—could eventually change the calculation about how much suppressant is needed to fight fires.
—IEEE Spectrum, 24 Dec. 2025
That was most evident with the two brothers who orchestrated the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, detonating two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
—Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
Ships are on sanctions list Naval drones are uncrewed speed boats packed with explosives that sail towards their targets before detonating.
—Reuters, NBC news, 30 Nov. 2025
Poseidon had been described as a doomsday weapon that is designed to create a massive radioactive tsunami by detonating near coastal targets.
—Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2025
In between detonating bombs hidden in Christmas presents and disfiguring the entire police force, Art sets his sights on the Shaw family.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Russia will test a new laser system designed to take out mines without detonating the explosive devices, state media reported on Thursday.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonating
Verb
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The stage design resembled a giant moon that sometimes felt like the boiling crater of a volcano, with red lights and fireworks exploding over the arena and lighting up the night sky.—
Natalia Cano,
Billboard,
31 Jan. 2026
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Back then, streaming and production demand were exploding.—
Kara Finnstrom,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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They’ve been burned enough by blowing leads this season.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
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Wilkerson treated him like a traffic cone, blowing by and bullying him for baskets.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There are upscale restaurants from around the globe opening every week, and vinyl listening bars are popping up all over town, too.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Jan. 2026
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Briggs New York Super Stretch Millennium Pull-On Pants Burgundy is the color of the moment, popping up on celebs like Mindy Kaling, Martha Stewart, and Lindsay Lohan.—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
PEOPLE,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Detonating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonating. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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