explosive
Noun · AdjectiveUS[ik-sploh-siv]/ɪkˈsploʊsɪv/3 syllables
Synonyms:
volatile
Open English WordNet
Adjective (3)
- serving to explode or characterized by explosion or sudden outburst“an explosive device”“explosive gas”“explosive force”“explosive violence”“an explosive temper”Opposite nonexplosiveSimilar detonative
- liable to lead to sudden change or violence“an explosive issue”“a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation”Synonyms: volatileOpposite stableSimilar unstable
- sudden and loud“an explosive laugh”Opposite gradualSimilar sudden
Noun (1)explosives
- a chemical substance that undergoes a rapid chemical change (with the production of gas) on being heated or struckType of chemical, chemical substanceKinds gunpowder, high explosive, tetryl, propellant explosive, explosive compound, low explosive, warhead, charge, explosive mixture, smokeless powder +3 morePart of explosive device
Word of the day · Oct 18About this word
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Translations
Noun explosive substance
- Spanish
- explosivo
- French
- explosif
- German
- Sprengstoff
- Italian
- esplosivo
- Portuguese
- explosivo
- Russian
- взрывча́тка vzryvčátka
- Chinese
- 炸药 zhàyào
- Japanese
- 爆発物 bakuhatsubutsu
- Dutch
- explosief
- Polish
- materiał wybuchowy
18 more languages
- Swedish
- sprängämne
- Korean
- 폭발물 pokbalmul
- Indonesian
- bahan peledak
- Vietnamese
- chất nổ
- Hungarian
- robbanóanyag
- Portuguese (PT)
- explosivo
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 炸藥 zhàyào
- Catalan
- explosiu
- Czech
- výbušnina
- Danish
- sprængstof
- Esperanto
- eksplodaĵo
- Finnish
- räjähdysaine
- Lithuanian
- sprogmuo
- Norwegian
- sprengstoff
- Romanian
- exploziv
- Serbo-Croatian
- eksploziv
- Slovak
- výbušnina
- Welsh
- ffrwydryn
Adjective with the capability to, or likely to, explode
- Spanish
- explosivo
- French
- explosif
- German
- explosiv
- Italian
- esplosivo
- Portuguese
- explosivo
- Turkish
- patlayıcı
- Russian
- взры́вчатый vzrývčatyj
- Chinese
- 易爆 yìbào
- Dutch
- explosief
- Polish
- wybuchowy
16 more languages
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Ex·plo′sive adjective
Origin: Cf. F. explosif.
Driving or bursting out with violence and noise; causing explosion; as, the explosive force of gunpowder.
Ex·plo′sive noun
1. An explosive agent; a compound or mixture susceptible of a rapid chemical reaction, as gunpowder, TNT, dynamite, or nitro-glycerine.
2. A sound produced by an explosive impulse of the breath; Phonetics one of consonants p, b, t, d, k, g, which are sounded with a sort of explosive power of voice. [See Guide to Pronunciation, √ 155-7, 184.]
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC