EXPLODING Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

exploding

verb

present participle of explode

as in detonating

to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure the building was wrecked when a powerful bomb exploded

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in shattering

to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive the bomb was so powerful that it exploded windows in several neighboring buildings

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in erupting

to develop suddenly and violently the mayor's latest unpopular decision caused long-suppressed resentment to explode into open anger

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of exploding Instead, the forward now picks his moments, strolling around the pitch to find space and then exploding into action. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 15 July 2026 In late May, about 50,000 people in Orange County were evacuated because, at a Garden Grove site operated by GKN Aerospace, tanks holding a volatile hazardous chemical called methyl methacrylate were at risk of exploding or leaking toxics. — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026 The upper stage, sometimes referred to simply as 'Ship, then used its own six Raptor engines to fly halfway around the world before landing and exploding as expected in the Indian Ocean. — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 15 July 2026 Decades later, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman popularized the puzzle after his own attempt to solve it, which famously ended with a glass carboy exploding under high pressure. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026 Pollutants from data center construction and operations are part of the mounting anxieties Americans have around the exploding growth of AI infrastructure around the country. — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 13 July 2026 Blue Origin is racing against the clock to undo the damage caused by its New Glenn rocket exploding in May. — Chris Young july 12, New Atlas, 13 July 2026 While Schitt’s Creek was completely overlooked by Emmy voters for its first four seasons, landing its first four nominations in 2019 for Season 5 before exploding with 15 noms the following year, Hacks has been an Emmy darling from the start. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 8 July 2026 The title poem takes the reader into the crosshairs of war’s violence, exploding euphemistic descriptions of its horrors. — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 7 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for exploding

Verb

To put it simply—detonating nuclear weapons in space can be as disastrous as detonating them on Earth.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 July 2026
Many older interceptor missiles use blast-fragmentation warheads, detonating near the incoming missile and destroying it with high-speed metal fragments.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026

Definition of detonating

Verb

The tax, generally considered a barometer of the tourist industry’s health, has been on a 14-month tear, shattering all monthly revenue records and outpacing the rosiest of predictions by its closest followers.

— Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 July 2026
While the franchise dates way back to gaming’s 16-bit era, its most recent release, 2020’s Streets of Rage 4, hit like a jaw-shattering Grand Hook with critics and fans alike.

— Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026

Definition of shattering

Verb

Lettuce and salad greens have become the prime suspects in an explosive outbreak of the diarrheal parasite Cyclospora, which is surging nationwide but erupting to extraordinary heights in Michigan.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 14 July 2026
Their teammates gathered to support them during the derby, a grin perpetually lining Marsh’s face and erupting across Jhoan Duran’s as Schwarber hit homer after homer.

— Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 14 July 2026

Definition of erupting

Verb

But, experts say, the projects popping up in Miami-Dade are unlike those that grab headlines for fouling drinking water and driving up power bills — for now.

— Alexandra Phelps, Miami Herald, 17 July 2026
But even in a regular photograph, Horálek was able to show the incredible beauty of the glow of the Milky Way's heart above the mountain range, with every color in the rainbow popping up in the gas and dust across our galaxy.

— Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 16 July 2026

Definition of popping

Verb

Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.

— CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
The ripe salt-sea smell, raw and delicious and foul, that rose up from the platform and haunted the marsh for miles around, was today tamped down by the freshwater air blowing down from the north.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026

Definition of blowing

Verb

Western Newspaper Union Building Plans filed with the city show that the project would include demolishing and replacing an existing building on the site.

— Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 21 July 2026
Concerns over demolishing the Excelsior Club The decision to demolish has sparked tension with local preservationists and historians.

— Claire Harutunian, Charlotte Observer, 16 July 2026

Definition of demolishing

Verb

Call it the canary yellow uniforms in the coal mine — except the Red Sox have shot up the elevator shaft, bursting from their subterranean crypt.

— Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 20 July 2026
All that was missing was a second goal, which Mikel Merino provided once again, bursting onto the field like a bolt of lightning from the bench in the closing minutes.

— Juan Claudio Matossian, Vanity Fair, 19 July 2026

Definition of bursting

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explodes

exploding

exploit

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“Exploding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exploding. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of exploding

verb

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