exploding

verb

present participle of explode
1
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
2
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
3
as in erupting
to develop suddenly and violently the mayor's latest unpopular decision caused long-suppressed resentment to explode into open anger

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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 Likewise, Roman will see exploding stars called supernovas that allow astronomers to measure how fast the universe has been expanding. — Don Figer, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026 Steiner said a mass of glacial ice dropping from a great height could have felt like a bomb exploding, resulting in the chaos that followed. — Sibi Arasu, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026 Exhilarating, sublime, and unsettling, these installations—which often incorporate polka-dot balloons, pumpkins, LED lights, and soundtracks—immerse the viewer in infinite reflective surfaces, exploding even small spaces into an endless expanse. — Livia Caligor, Architectural Digest, 27 Aug. 2026 The issue exploding ahead of the midterms, defying traditional party lines. — ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026 Because the landing was so gentle, Ship 40 was able to slowly tip over and float in the ocean without exploding or sinking, as prior prototypes have done. — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026 There was an exploding wheel a hundred and thirty-five feet in the air. — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026 The return of tanning, unregulated peptides, and now, exploding mousse? — James Manso, Allure, 17 Aug. 2026 Flag football is exploding in popularity among girls in Minnesota. — Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exploding
  1. detonating
  2. shattering
  3. erupting
  4. popping
  5. smashing
  6. blowing
  7. demolishing
  8. bursting
Verb
  • Bowie planned to put the bomb in a delivery bag and escape to Syria after detonating it, the complaint alleges.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Just weeks before her confrontation with Cunningham, Carrington sent shockwaves through the WNBA by publicly detonating her former relationship on social media.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of detonating
Verb
  • Meanwhile, epidemiologist Susan Mayne said the government has responded slowly to the record-shattering outbreak that started in May, which demonstrates how the nation's federal food safety programs are in disarray.
    — Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Majdi described his son’s birth in near-metaphysical terms, his own grief as shattering.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of shattering
Verb
  • Its skyline is dominated by towering smokestacks, hulking arrays of metal tubes and bright flames erupting from flares at petrochemical plants in the global plastics supply chain.
    — Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Triton’s nitrogen geyser system Voyager 2 observed at least four dark plumes erupting from Triton, Neptune’s largest moon, during its 1989 flyby.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of erupting
Verb
  • Ogden’s was 25 pounds, Anderson’s fish had an immense girth and weighed an eye-popping 44 pounds.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Despite pleas from his assistants to send out a warning of our arrival, Fertitta is intent on popping in on the crew unawares.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of popping
Verb
  • Other robots were not so successful, with some tripping, falling and smashing into pieces during competitions or even catching fire.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • This summer has seen record-smashing heatwaves across Europe, huge wildfires from Spain and France to Canada, which have released deadly pollutants into the air, and yet more extreme heat from Africa to Asia.
    — Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of smashing
Verb
  • Since then, more suits across the country have followed, blowing huge holes into NCAA eligibility rules, new and old.
    — Justin Williams, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Although skies are still smoky across portions of the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies, not much is blowing east of there.
    — Ben Noll, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of blowing
Verb
  • As community members organized marches and protests, Abdeen helped bring a class-action lawsuit against the city, arguing that demolishing the neighborhood would violate residents’ civil rights.
    — Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Trump has faced widespread criticism for demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make room for the grand ballroom design.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of demolishing
Verb
  • The wealth of the richest Americans has torqued upward, bursting through the top of the graph, with no end in sight, completely untethered from the rest of the United States.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Murphy has built an empire by keeping a full-to-bursting pipeline of shows and returning to certain creative wells.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of bursting

Browse Nearby Words

explodes
exploding
exploit
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Cite this Entry

“Exploding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exploding. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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