1
as in scene
an outburst or display of excited anger
the boss had another blowup when someone fouled up the copy machine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in eruption
the act or an instance of exploding
the last blowup of the volcano flattened trees for miles around
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to anger
to become very angry
she blew up at everybody after a very long and very bad day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to detonate
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure
the building blew up because of a gas leak
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to smash
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive
blew up the biggest rocks and then cleared them away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to crack up
to praise or publicize lavishly and often excessively
the advertisement blows the new soda up to the point where I half expected to be transported to a higher level of consciousness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of blowup
John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
The probe has already braved coronal mass ejections, major blowups that spew the sun’s plasma out into the solar system.
—Becky Ferreira, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
During closing arguments Thursday, defense attorneys showed blown up still frames of the purse on the couch, amplifying the prosecutor’s error.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for blowup
Noun
The political fractures exposed by the MAGA blowup weren’t surprising to him.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
The probe has already braved coronal mass ejections, major blowups that spew the sun’s plasma out into the solar system.
—Becky Ferreira, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
Verb
Along the way, the show reinvented itself twice: Alias blew up its premise in a bold post-Super Bowl episode, then pulled the rug out from Sydney yet again in a jaw-dropping finale.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
During closing arguments Thursday, defense attorneys showed blown up still frames of the purse on the couch, amplifying the prosecutor’s error.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for blowup
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blowup
Noun
-
Denver Broncos → Leicester City Denver head coach Sean Payton had a spell playing for the Leicester Panthers, one of the big names in the fledgling UK American football scene, as a young man in the 1980s and the similarities between these two teams do not stop there.—
Eduardo Tansley,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
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Yet his years behind the scenes of the drug’s development left him and his family disillusioned.—
Robin Fields,
CNN,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Both years saw eruptions at the Crater Peak vent, located two miles south of the volcano’s summit.—
Maria Aguilar Prieto,
CNN,
15 Feb. 2025
-
This week, lava fountains from Kilauea's north vent reached heights of 330 feet during the early hours of the eruption, with a slow effusion of lava from the south vent later.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The former Republican majority leader has angered some of Trump's supporters for votes and views that conflict with the president's.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2025
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Further confusing and angering fans has been the way the team has seemingly taken shots at Dončić's work ethic and conditioning.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC News,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Egypt is a regional lynchpin containing a potential powder keg of radical sentiment that if detonated would ricochet around the region, puncturing European and US interests.—
Nic Robertson,
CNN,
5 Feb. 2025
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Just a few days before a career Special Forces soldier detonated a rental truck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, the U.S. Department of Defense released a report on the mental health of its troops.—
Anna Mulrine Grobe,
The Christian Science Monitor,
28 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The robber smashes various display cases and loads jewelry into his backpack before running back to the car.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
24 Feb. 2025
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Two Riverside officers have been charged after one smashed a resident’s skateboard in a viral video.—
Ryan Fonseca,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The scene makes Perkins crack up — Death looks tired and haggard, his job is never done (especially this week), and while the father-son may have escaped this round, their paths will cross in some unknowable way in the future.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
21 Feb. 2025
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The characters’ awkward and absurd interactions were so funny, none of the four actors could help cracking up.—
John Russell,
People.com,
3 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Volunteers were charged around 25 cents per huff, bringing in good profit for those who’d invested in the necessary gas tanks, tubes, and breathing bags.—
Oshan Jarow,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
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The huffs and hums, produced by two women standing face-to-face and vocalizing from their throats, is believed to be one of the oldest music forms in the world.—
Lale Arikoglu,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Aug. 2024
Noun
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The explosion caused damage from the ninth floor upwards, the fire department said in a statement obtained by the outlet, and two of the fatality victims and an five or the injured were tourists from Macau.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2025
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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said that its team at the site heard a large explosion shortly before 2 a.m. local time Friday (7 p.m. ET Thursday).—
Daria Tarasova-Markina,
CNN,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Blowup.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blowup. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.
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