Library / English Dictionary

EXPLODE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Increase rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner

Example:

The island's rodent population irrupted

Synonyms:

explode; irrupt

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

increase (become bigger or greater in amount)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

explosion (a sudden great increase)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Burst outward, usually with noise

Example:

The champagne bottle exploded

Synonyms:

burst; explode

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

change integrity (change in physical make-up)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "explode"):

crump (explode heavily or with a loud dull noise)

go off (be discharged or activated)

belch; erupt; extravasate (become active and spew forth lava and rocks)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

implode (burst inward)

Derivation:

explosion (the act of exploding or bursting)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Burst and release energy as through a violent chemical or physical reaction

Example:

The Molotov cocktail exploded

Synonyms:

blow up; detonate; explode

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be unleashed; emerge with violence or noise

Example:

His anger exploded

Synonyms:

break loose; burst forth; explode

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

explosion (a sudden outburst)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Cause to burst with a violent release of energy

Example:

We exploded the nuclear bomb

Synonyms:

blow up; detonate; explode; set off

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

change integrity (change in physical make-up)

Cause:

blow up; detonate; explode (burst and release energy as through a violent chemical or physical reaction)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "explode"):

fulminate (cause to explode violently and with loud noise)

dynamite (blow up with dynamite)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

explosion (the act of exploding or bursting)

explosion (a violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reaction)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Show (a theory or claim) to be baseless, or refute and make obsolete

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

confute; disprove (prove to be false)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 7

Meaning:

Show a violent emotional reaction

Example:

The boss exploded when he heard of the resignation of the secretary

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

react; respond (show a response or a reaction to something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 8

Meaning:

Drive from the stage by noisy disapproval

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

condemn (declare or judge unfit for use or habitation)

"Explode" entails doing...:

boo; hiss (show displeasure, as after a performance or speech)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 9

Meaning:

Cause to burst as a result of air pressure; of stop consonants like /p/, /t/, and /k/

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

articulate; enounce; enunciate; pronounce; say; sound out (speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

explosion (the terminal forced release of pressure built up during the occlusive phase of a stop consonant)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Destroy by exploding

Example:

The enemy exploded the bridge

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "explode" is one way to...):

destroy; ruin (destroy completely; damage irreparably)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

Mobile phones came into our countries in 1994, their use exploded in '94, '95 let's say 2000.

(Health threats caused by mobile phone radiation, EUROPARL TV)

"You damn beasts!" he finally exploded, and went back to his task.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“A trifle more of that man,” he would say, “and I shall explode.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Last year, a Falcon 9 exploded on a Florida launchpad during a preflight test.

(SpaceX Completes Successful Rocket Launch, VOA News)

During that time, the storm exploded through the clouds, eventually winding its way around Saturn.

(Study Explains Saturn's Epic Tantrums, NASA)

Overfishing the waters near coral reefs, however, removes the primary algae-eaters from the environment, allowing populations of fleshy algae to explode.

(Too much algae and too many microbes threaten coral reefs, NSF)

“Over their lifetimes, red supergiants like Betelgeuse create and eject vast amounts of material even before they explode as supernovae.”

(ESO Telescope Sees Surface of Dim Betelgeuse, ESO)

You have burdened your memory with exploded systems and useless names.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

I pressed Traddles into the service without his knowledge; and whenever he came to see us, exploded my mines upon him for the edification of Dora at second hand.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The eleventh house rules your community and fan-base, so if you are active in social media, your followers are likely to explode this year in numbers.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)