POPPING Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

popping

verb

present participle of pop

as in exploding

to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure a balloon popped suddenly and startled us all

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in snapping

to break suddenly with an explosive sound the last strand popped, causing the chandelier to drop to the floor with a great crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in shattering

to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive popping popcorn over a campfire

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in shooting

to strike with a missile from a gun went into the woods hoping to pop the rabbit that was eating our vegetables

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 popping The 21-year-old slugger has hit four homers in 28 games and 109 plate appearances this year, popping one in each of his last two games. —

Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026 My colleague Christopher Reynolds reported that, as of May, northbound traffic at Ragged Point, the southern gateway to Big Sur, has risen an eye-popping 900% year-over-year, and local businesses are experiencing their busiest summer in years. —

Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026 Artistic director Matt Morrow is no stranger to eye-popping productions on the Lesher stage. —

Charles Lewis Iii, Mercury News, 12 June 2026 In cities around the United States, Mexico and Canada, fan zones are popping up as a gathering place for the soccer-crazed and the soccer-curious to come and enjoy the Beautiful Game. —

Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 11 June 2026 The champagne bottles were popping Tuesday at the dock in Morehead City, North Carolina, where a crew of fishermen brought in the biggest billfish ever weighed at the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. —

Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 11 June 2026 Given the eye-popping ratings, not a single compensatory makegood unit has been put into service to placate advertisers, who frankly are getting a hell of a bargain. —

Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 11 June 2026 See firsthand what HigherDose’s Full Body Red Light Mat can do for your wellbeing by popping into one of CorePower’s new collaborative classes — happening weekly in cities like Austin, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Huntington Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco. —

Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 11 June 2026 Random finances keep popping up that set us back. —

Amy Eskind, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for popping

Verb

Atlanta trailed 25-13 after one quarter before exploding for 34 points in the second, the team's highest-scoring second quarter of the season, to flip the game entirely.

— Christopher Harris, CBS News, 15 June 2026
In a recent blog post, Asha Sharma laid out many issues ranging from tiny division margins to exploding component costs, all balanced with its biggest gamer complaint, a lack of big Xbox first-party games, and namely big first-party games that are Xbox exclusives.

— Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026