explosion
noun
Simple meaning
A sudden, uncontrolled or rapid increase, expansion, or bursting out.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihksplohzhuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪkspˈloʊʒən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A sudden, uncontrolled or rapid increase, expansion, or bursting out.
A sudden great increase
A sudden outburst
A violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reaction
A violent release of energy (sometimes mechanical, nuclear, or chemical); an act or instance of exploding.
The noise caused by an explosion
“The explosion was heard a mile away.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A sudden, uncontrolled or rapid increase, expansion, or bursting out.
Used this way, explosion is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Sudden and forceful
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use explosion
- “The explosion was heard a mile away.”noun
- “The explosion of the firecrackers awoke the children.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Sudden
Violent
Other combinations
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The explosion of an atomic bomb.
The explosion of an atomic bomb.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: sudden or uncontrolled or rapid increase or expansion
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “explosion” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.