as in explosions
the act or an instance of exploding
there was a series of detonations around the base of the condemned building, causing it to come crashing down in a matter of minutes
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Recent Examples of detonations
Controlled detonations were expected to continue throughout the day.
—
Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 12 Oct. 2025
Emergency crews initially struggled to access the wreckage due to ongoing detonations.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
The Global Burst Detection system, a set of specialized payloads hosted on US GPS satellites, has been monitoring the planet for signs of nuclear detonations for over 60 years.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
Lithuania on Wednesday accused Russia of being behind the detonations of parcels carried by DHL and DPD in Europe in 2024 as part of a test run for to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the United States.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Following the detonations, black rains fell, sticky and radioactive—a type of nuclear fallout.
—R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Some thought experiments, if truly wrestled with, can act like inner detonations.
—Shai Tubali, Big Think, 5 Aug. 2025
Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 12 Oct. 2025
Emergency crews initially struggled to access the wreckage due to ongoing detonations.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
The Global Burst Detection system, a set of specialized payloads hosted on US GPS satellites, has been monitoring the planet for signs of nuclear detonations for over 60 years.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025
Lithuania on Wednesday accused Russia of being behind the detonations of parcels carried by DHL and DPD in Europe in 2024 as part of a test run for to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the United States.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Following the detonations, black rains fell, sticky and radioactive—a type of nuclear fallout.
—R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Some thought experiments, if truly wrestled with, can act like inner detonations.
—Shai Tubali, Big Think, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonations
Noun
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What To Know Telegram channels and Ukrainian media reported that there were explosions in Feodosia overnight Sunday after drones attacked an oil depot which caused a fire that could be seen miles away.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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The blast set off smaller explosions, local officials said, and shook homes as far as 15 miles away while scattering debris over half a square mile.—
Alisha Ebrahimji,
CNN Money,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Instead, they are designed to focus on the large solar eruptions because these have the most effects on infrastructure on Earth.—
Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti,
The Conversation,
13 Oct. 2025
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Stellar activity could affect the gas cloud, causing episodic behavior that could mimic eruptions.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Scientific American,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detonations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonations. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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