explosive
Americanadjective
-
of, involving, or characterized by an explosion or explosions
-
capable of exploding or tending to explode
-
potentially violent or hazardous; dangerous
an explosive situation
-
phonetics another word for plosive
noun
-
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
-
a plosive consonant; stop
Other Word Forms
- explosively adverb
- explosiveness noun
- nonexplosive adjective
- nonexplosively adverb
- nonexplosiveness noun
- unexplosive adjective
- unexplosively adverb
- unexplosiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of explosive
First recorded in 1660–70; explos(ion) + -ive
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 department received additional penalties for improperly documenting training, failing to identify and evaluate the hazards of transporting and storing the ordnance, and leaving explosives unattended.
From Los Angeles Times
Last April was an exception because the recovery was so explosive.
It went on: "A comprehensive operational examination indicates that no explosive device was placed in the area by IDF troops, and that no IDF troops were present in the area at all."
From BBC
“Markets are increasingly reacting less to headlines alone and more to whether there is a credible path toward de-escalation, which keeps volatility sensitive but less explosive than last week.”
From Barron's
"This work shows that the universe's explosive early growth can come directly from a deeper theory of gravity itself," Afshordi said.
From Science Daily
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.
