explosive

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adjective

ex·plo·sive ik-ˈsplō-siv

-ziv

Synonyms of explosive next

: relating to, characterized by, or operated by explosion

an explosive hatch

: resulting from or as if from an explosion

explosive population growth

: tending to explode

an explosive person

: likely to erupt in or produce hostile reaction or violence

an explosive situation

explosively adverb

explosiveness noun

explosive

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noun

: an explosive substance

: a consonant characterized by explosion in its articulation when it occurs in certain environments : stop

Example Sentences

Adjective He has an explosive temper. there's been an explosive interest in the sport since the Olympics

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

More Americans were flush with cash in the early years of the pandemic, while the tech industry saw explosive growth. —

Irina Ivanova, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2023 What to know about the Silicon Valley Bank collapse Those concerns included the bank's explosive asset growth, its reliance on uninsured deposits and the impact of high interest rates on its long-term bonds. —

Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2023 However, this explosive growth has also raised concerns amongst various entities. —

Vinayak S., Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023 Balancing the two helps make each stride explosive. —

Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 3 Mar. 2023 The hearing began with federal prosecutor Sherri Stephan reading the charges: possession of an explosive and attempting to place it on a plane. —

Adam Reiss, NBC News, 3 Mar. 2023 Child Labor: The Biden administration announced a crackdown on the labor exploitation of migrant children, a move that came after a Times investigation showed the explosive growth of migrant child labor throughout the United States. —

Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2023 After 20 years of explosive growth, the number of students seeking to enroll as freshman this fall at UC San Diego has taken a slight dip for reasons that are not fully understood by the university. —

San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2023 Unlike a brain inhabiting a body, which goes on an explosive developmental trajectory, the Petri-dish brain’s development is stunted after 40 weeks (or 9 months) in vitro. —

Stav Dimitropoulos, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023

Noun

Investigators said the men were antigovernment extremists who were trying to come up with $4,000 for an explosive to blow up a bridge in Northern Michigan during an abduction. —

BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2022 Taco is a 20th-century word from Mexican Spanish that means plug or wad, a reference to part of an explosive used in silver mining. —

Kim Severson, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2023 When authorities found the explosive in his baggage, Muffley was paged and asked to come to the security desk. —

Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2023 The charges include conspiracy to commit a crime, possession and transport of a weapon and ammunition without a license, and an attempt to destroy property with an explosive. —

Peter Aitken, Fox News, 20 Jan. 2023 Croft also was found guilty of possessing an unregistered explosive. —

Arkansas Online, 29 Dec. 2022 The explosive was detonated as it was being carried in a truck toward Crimea on Saturday, the FSB said. —

Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 12 Oct. 2022 Their leader, who hurled the explosive, is gradually identified as Karim (Sami Slimane), Abdel’s younger brother. —

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022 The explosive was detonated remotely, the Federal Security Service said Monday. —

Ann M. Simmons, WSJ, 22 Aug. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'explosive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.