Adjacent Words

Explosive definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EXPLO'SIVE, a. Driving or bursting out with violence and noise; causing explosion; as the explosive force of gun-powder.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: serving to explode or characterized by explosion or sudden outburst; "an explosive device"; "explosive gas"; "explosive force"; "explosive violence"; "an explosive temper" [ant: nonexplosive]
2: liable to lead to sudden change or violence; "an explosive issue"; "a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation" [syn: explosive, volatile]
3: sudden and loud; "an explosive laugh" n
1: a chemical substance that undergoes a rapid chemical change (with the production of gas) on being heated or struck

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 1667 1. a. relating to, characterized by, or operated by explosion <an explosive hatch> b. resulting from or as if from an explosion <explosive population growth> 2. a. tending to explode <an explosive person> b. likely to erupt in or produce hostile reaction or violence <an explosive ghetto situation> • explosively adverb • explosiveness noun II. noun Date: 1849 1. an explosive substance 2. a consonant characterized by explosion in its articulation when it occurs in certain environments ; stop

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 able or tending or likely to explode. 2 likely to cause a violent outburst etc.; (of a situation etc.) dangerously tense. --n. an explosive substance. Derivatives: explosively adv. explosiveness n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Explosive Ex*plo"sive, a. [Cf. F. explosif.] Driving or bursting out with violence and noise; causing explosion; as, the explosive force of gunpowder.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Explosive Ex*plo"sive, n. 1. An explosive agent; a compound or mixture susceptible of a rapid chemical reaction, as gunpowder, 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. Note: [See Guide to Pronunciation, [root] 155-7, 184.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(explosives) 1. An explosive is a substance or device that can cause an explosion. ...one-hundred-and-fifty pounds of Semtex explosive... N-VAR 2. Something that is explosive is capable of causing an explosion. The explosive device was timed to go off at the rush hour... ADJ • explosively Hydrogen is explosively flammable when mixed with oxygen. ADV: ADV adj, ADV after v 3. An explosive growth is a sudden, rapid increase in the size or quantity of something. The explosive growth in casinos is one of the most conspicuous signs of Westernisation. ADJ • explosively These transactions grew explosively in the early 1980s. ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj 4. An explosive situation is likely to have difficult, serious, or dangerous effects. He appeared to be treating the potentially explosive situation with some sensitivity... Nobody knows what explosive arguments the future of Europe will bring. ADJ: usu ADJ n • explosively A referendum next year would coincide explosively with the election campaign. ADV: ADV after v 5. If you describe someone as explosive, you mean that they tend to express sudden violent anger. He's inherited his father's explosive temper. = fiery ADJ • explosively 'Are you mad?' David asked explosively. ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj 6. A sudden loud noise can be described as explosive. He made a loud, explosive noise of disgust. ...an explosive drumbeat. ADJ • explosively The sound of her own chewing and swallowing were explosively loud. ADV: ADV adj, ADV after v

Moby Thesaurus

Ballistite, TNT, agitable, alarming, allophone, alveolar, anxious, apico-alveolar, apico-dental, articulation, aspiration, assimilation, bad, banging, bilabial, blasting, bursting, cacuminal, cellulose nitrate, cerebral, chancy, check, combustible, consonant, continuant, cordite, cracking, crashing, critical, dangerous, dangersome, delicate, dental, detonating, dicey, diphthong, dissimilation, dynamite, edgy, emotional, emotionally unstable, epenthetic vowel, eruptive, excitable, explodable, exploding, explosible, fiery, flapping, fraught, fraught with danger, fulminating, gelignite, glide, glottal, glottalization, gunpowder, guttural, hasty, hazardous, high explosive, high-mettled, high-spirited, high-strung, highly emotional, hot, hot-tempered, hotheaded, iffy, inflammable, irascible, irritable, jeopardous, knocking, labial, labialization, labiodental, labiovelar, laryngeal, lateral, lingual, liquid, manner of articulation, melinite, menacing, mettlesome, modification, monophthong, morphophoneme, mute, nasal, nasty, nervous, nitrocotton, nitroglycerin, occlusive, palatal, parasitic vowel, parlous, passionate, peak, peppery, periculous, perilous, perturbable, pharyngeal, pharyngealization, phone, phoneme, plastic, plastic explosive, plosive, popping, powder, precarious, prickly, prothetic vowel, quick, quick-tempered, rapping, retroflex, segmental phoneme, semivowel, sensitive, serious, shaky, short-tempered, skittish, slapping, slatting, smokeless powder, sonant, sonority, speech sound, spunky, startlish, stop, surd, syllabic nucleus, syllabic peak, syllable, tapping, tense, threatening, touch-and-go, touchy, transition sound, trinitrotoluol, triphthong, ugly, uncertain, unpredictable, unsound, unstable, velar, villanous saltpetre, vocable, vocalic, vocoid, voice, voiced sound, voiceless sound, voicing, volatile, volcanic, vowel