explosive
Americanadjective
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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
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
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for January 28–February 3, 2023
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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.
The content, produced by entities like Explosive Media with apparent government backing, marks a shift from Iran’s traditional communication strategy to one using global pop culture.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
What creative visionaries achieve with Legos is very different from Explosive Media’s slopaganda cartoons, to be clear.
From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026
Explosive growth in the usage of accelerated processors “is driving real server CPU demand.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
For our new BBC podcast, Top Comment, we spoke to a representative of Explosive Media, one of the key accounts generating these clips.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Explosive increases in some kinds of soil organisms have occurred when others have been reduced by insecticides, disturbing the relation of predator to prey.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions 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.
