explosive
Americanadjective
adjective
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of, involving, or characterized by an explosion or explosions
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capable of exploding or tending to explode
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potentially violent or hazardous; dangerous
an explosive situation
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phonetics another word for plosive
noun
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a substance that decomposes rapidly under certain conditions with the production of gases, which expand by the heat of the reaction. The energy released is used in firearms, blasting, and rocket propulsion
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a plosive consonant; stop
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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explosivenessnoun
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nonexplosivenessnoun
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unexplosivenessnoun
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nonexplosiveadjective
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unexplosiveadjective
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explosivelyadverb
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nonexplosivelyadverb
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unexplosivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of explosive
First recorded in 1660–70; explos(ion) + -ive
Explanation
An explosive is a substance that can be made to explode by being hit or lit on fire. You might use an explosive to create a tunnel through a mountain — but you probably shouldn't use one to clear weeds from your yard. Explosives contain highly reactive chemicals that are full of potential energy, which can be released with a bang. You can also use the word explosive as an adjective, to describe such substances or anything else that is dramatic, abrupt, or loud. You might say that your brother has an explosive temper sometimes, or that your snow shoveling business has seen explosive growth this winter. The Latin root is explodere, "drive out."
Vocabulary lists containing explosive
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2015 National Spelling Bee Words
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-ive
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Customers still cut back on visits, though, as people reported explosive diarrhea and stomach cramping after dining at the chain’s locations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
With explosive power and supreme athleticism, the 24-year-old American already possesses weapons which can inflict serious damage.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
She caught her stride with 2025’s EP “In Order,” which sports her calling-card single “Cherry Cola” — an exultant, explosive, Kerouac-ian infatuation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Anthropic earlier this week released paperwork for its public listing, expected for next month, that showed explosive revenue growth in recent quarters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
At my question about them, Dad said they were “dusting”: spreading rock dust around to hold down the explosive mixture of coal dust and air.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
It arrived at Warsaw's Chopin airport, which closed one runway as the plane underwent a security inspection, but no explosives were found.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
Four European flights were targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday, forcing the temporary closure of one Warsaw airport, but all planes landed safely and no explosives were found, authorities said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
On one job, when contractors were using explosives to fell turbines, hubs weighing more than 30 tons ended up buried deep in clay and had to be arduously excavated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
It also said the Ukrainian man had collected information including "on the production of armoured vehicles, ammunition, and explosives".
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
France, Belgium, Resistance agents, refugees, wireless equipment and explosives smuggled into Nazi-occupied Europe—you didn’t dare talk about it.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
