detonate
verb (used without object)
to explode with suddenness and violence.
was detonating
-
past progressiveof detonate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Judy Chicago was detonating fireworks in the desert as part of her feminist pushback to the Land Art movement in the 1960s.
From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2022
The technological progress of whoever was detonating them was exceptionally swift by the usual metric of emerging civilizations.
From The Verge ● Feb. 7, 2018
On Saturday, Spieth and his playing competitor, Scott Piercy, were in the group directly ahead of Tony Finau, who was detonating cheers in his gallery with four birdies on the front nine.
From New York Times ● Aug. 15, 2015
It was detonating pretty harshly off the bottom-end, and they originally thought the problem was with the bike's ignition.
From Time Magazine Archive
Breede was detonating into the desk-telephone which had sounded at his elbow.
From Bunker Bean by Harry Leon Wilson
