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
Israel did not confirm its involvement in the immediate aftermath of the detonations, which came after months of Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel, which had ratcheted up in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Southern Israel.
—
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2025
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
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 28 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonations
Noun
-
These meteors are particularly known for being rich in fireballs, illuminating the sky with large explosions of light and color, and can produce about five meteors an hour at their peak.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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It’s most often seen in people who play sports like football, hockey and soccer, but it’s also been detected in the brains of soldiers who have been injured in explosions and in some people who experienced domestic violence.—
Jen Christensen,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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While tectonic activity is the leading cause, earthquakes can also result from volcanic eruptions, underground explosions, and human activities like mining or large-scale construction.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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To prepare for the inevitable, ESA is expanding its monitoring network and preparing for the 2031 Vigil mission — a new spacecraft that will sit at the sun-Earth L5 point to give earlier warnings of incoming solar eruptions.—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detonations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonations. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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