explode

1. 1.

   cause to burst with a violent release of energy

   “We exploded the nuclear bomb”

   Synonymsdetonateblow upset off

   Broaderchange integrity

   Narrowerfulminatedynamite
2. 2.

   burst outward, usually with noise

   “The champagne bottle exploded”

   Synonymsburst

   Antonymsimplode

   Broaderchange integrity

   Narrowercrumpgo offerupt
3. 3.

   show a violent emotional reaction

   “The boss exploded when he heard of the resignation of the secretary”

   Broaderreact
4. 4.

   be unleashed; emerge with violence or noise

   “His anger exploded”

   Synonymsburst forthbreak loose

   Broaderchange state
5. 5.

   destroy by exploding

   “The enemy exploded the bridge”

   Broaderdestroy
6. 6.

   cause to burst as a result of air pressure; of stop consonants like /p/, /t/, and /k/

   Broaderpronounce
7. 7.

   drive from the stage by noisy disapproval

   Broadercondemn
8. 8.

   show (a theory or claim) to be baseless, or refute and make obsolete

   Broaderdisprove
9. 9.

   burst and release energy as through a violent chemical or physical reaction

   “the bomb detonated at noon”

   “The Molotov cocktail exploded”

   Synonymsdetonateblow up
10. 10.

    increase rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner

    “The population of India is exploding”

    “The island's rodent population irrupted”

    Synonymsirrupt

    Broaderincrease

Other forms of explode

past tense

exploded·

present participle

exploding·

third person

explodes·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about explode

What does explode mean?

explode means "cause to burst with a violent release of energy". That is the primary sense; the word has 10 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in explode?

explode has 2 syllables: ex-plode. The stress falls on "plode". In IPA it is /ɪkˈsploʊd/.

What is another word for explode?

Close synonyms include detonate, blow up, set off, burst, burst forth. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of explode?

The recorded antonyms are implode.

Is explode a common word?

explode is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.