implosion

[ im-ploh-zhuhn ]

noun

1. the act of imploding; a bursting inward ( explosion ).
2. Phonetics.
   1. the occlusive phase of stop consonants.
   2. (of a stop consonant) the nasal release heard in the common pronunciation of eaten, sudden, or mitten, in which the vowel of the final syllable is greatly reduced.
   3. the ingressive release of a suction stop. Compare plosion.

implosion

/ ɪmˈpləʊʒən /

noun

1. the act or process of imploding

   the implosion of a light bulb

2. phonetics the suction or inhalation of breath employed in the pronunciation of an ingressive consonant

Word History and Origins

Origin of implosion¹

First recorded in 1875–80; im- ¹ + (ex)plosion

Example Sentences

No one should try to view the implosion in person, county officials said.

From Washington Post

The implosion was the indirect result of the collapse, one day previously, of Topshop owner Arcadia Group.

From Fortune

The changes come after the implosion of Wirecard, the fintech that was a DAX member for two years despite repeated allegations of irregularities.

From Fortune

This has tallied not with the 20th century but more pointedly with the period between the start of the Cold War and the current implosion of the liberal world order.

From No Straight News

In fact, only in the 1970s and then again following the dot-com bubble implosion were there sustained periods of weak dollar and weak stock price performance, as the chart here shows.

From Fortune

After the implosion of the project, Harris relocated to a commercial apple orchard in upstate New York.

From The Daily Beast

And with Still-House it was the act of striking the match…the photographs of flames…the violent implosion of the oil barrels.

From The Daily Beast

The tsunami of value destruction would dwarf the Lehman Brothers implosion, says Daniel Gross.

From The Daily Beast

The last four years have witnessed an astonishing implosion of a previously unquestioned investment strategy.

From The Daily Beast

But these stories always end the same way, with the implosion of the would-be demagogue.

From The Daily Beast

In ten minutes, she had the slow-implosion capsule out of the hopper of a battered old Aldebaranese cargo ship.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bankruptcy
• breakdown
• collapse
• decline
• defeat
• deficiency
• deterioration
• failing
• loss
• misstep