explode
verb
Simple meaning
To make a violent or emotional outburst.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihksplohdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪkˈsploʊd
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
To make a violent or emotional outburst.
“She exploded when I criticised her hat.”
To destroy with an explosion.
“The assassin exploded the car by means of a car bomb.”
To destroy violently or abruptly.
To increase suddenly.
To decompress (data) that was previously imploded.
To open all doors and hatches on an automobile.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To make a violent or emotional outburst.
Used this way, explode is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.
“She exploded when I criticised her hat.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Destroyverb
“The assassin exploded the car by means of a car bomb.”
Makeverb
“She exploded when I criticised her hat.”
More ways to use explode
- “The boss exploded when he heard of the resignation of the secretary.”verb
- “We exploded the nuclear bomb.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Utter or do something surprising.
Mediterranean vine having oblong fruit that when ripe expels its seeds and juice violently when touched.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to make a violent or emotional outburst
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.