fulminate
to explode with a loud noise; detonate.
to issue denunciations or the like (usually followed by against): The minister fulminated against legalized vice.
to cause to explode.
to issue or pronounce with vehement denunciation, condemnation, or the like.
one of a group of unstable, explosive compounds derived from fulminic acid, especially the mercury salt of fulminic acid, which is a powerful detonating agent.
Origin of fulminate
1Other words from fulminate
- ful·mi·na·tor, noun
- ful·mi·na·to·ry [fuhl-muh-nuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], /ˈfʌl mə nəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective
- non·ful·mi·nat·ing, adjective
- un·ful·mi·nat·ed, adjective
- un·ful·mi·nat·ing, adjective
Words Nearby fulminate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fulminate in a sentence
The gun nuts—and obviously, not all gun owners are nuts, not even a majority—fulminate endlessly about their rights.
With Osama bin Laden inconveniently dead, the party out of power needs someone to fulminate against.
This flare was communicated to the percussion cap, or fulminate of mercury, at the base of the cartridge.
Whispering Wires | Henry LeverageMercury fulminate is more often employed in the detonator, and is prepared from mercury, alcohol, and nitric acid.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia | VariousThe most tremendous explosives refuse to explode unless some detonator like fulminate of mercury is set off first.
The Cup of Fury | Rupert Hughes
Digest copper (in powder or filings) with fulminate of mercury or of silver, and a little water.
It greatly resembles fulminate of silver in its appearance and general properties.
British Dictionary definitions for fulminate
/ (ˈfʌlmɪˌneɪt, ˈfʊl-) /
(intr often foll by against) to make criticisms or denunciations; rail
to explode with noise and violence
(intr) archaic to thunder and lighten
any salt or ester of fulminic acid, esp the mercury salt, which is used as a detonator
Origin of fulminate
1Derived forms of fulminate
- fulmination, noun
- fulminator, noun
- fulminatory, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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