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
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blowup
Sarah Hagi, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
Since Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts would both be potentially inflationary, there is a very real possibility of a blowup between the White House and the central bank.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Colin Demarest, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
Since the Palisades Fire exploded on Tuesday, Jan. 7, other blazes have blown up, including the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, and the Hurst Fire around Sylmar.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for blowup 
Noun
Following a big blowup at Angie’s mob-wives anniversary party, no real issues between the women have been resolved.
—Sarah Hagi, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
Since Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts would both be potentially inflationary, there is a very real possibility of a blowup between the White House and the central bank.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Verb
Missile-toting drone boats blew up two Russian helicopters and damaged a third in a Black Sea skirmish.
—Colin Demarest, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
Since the Palisades Fire exploded on Tuesday, Jan. 7, other blazes have blown up, including the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, and the Hurst Fire around Sylmar.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for blowup
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blowup
Noun
-
Emilie Blichfeldt’s body horror film includes several difficult-to-watch scenes of crude cosmetic surgery, including its protagonist eating a tapeworm, sewing in eyelashes and enduring a barbaric rhinoplasty.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2025
-
Watch on Deadline In its opening scenes, the series imagines passengers joining together in a singalong of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer before an explosion rips through the cabin.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
One possible scenario is an eruption outside of the volcano's caldera—the circular depression that forms a crater at a volcanic summit—as happened in the 2014 eruption.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
-
Plus, scientists are still studying the effects of events like the January 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption, which introduced vast quantities of water vapor and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere.—
Stefanie Waldek,
Space.com,
16 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
But in a surprising twist — one that angered Judge Timothy Fancourt — both sides on Tuesday asked for more time to thrash out a deal.—
Max Taylor,
NBC News,
22 Jan. 2025
-
Otherwise, the only other fix is charging more, which presents the risk of angering customers and decreasing revenue.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
An incendiary device was detonated, destroying ballots about a week before Election Day.—
Kristen Waggoner,
Newsweek,
21 Jan. 2025
-
Their actual plan was to detonate a bomb on the stairs that Dr. Nichols and Hank were secretly carrying on a fake medical stretcher.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
20 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Perhaps the elder Buffett has softened his opinion on dividends as Berkshire’s cash pile continued to smash records.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
19 Jan. 2025
-
Instead, Villain tried to smash her face into the food.—
Brenda Goodman,
CNN,
18 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
But if Nvidia’s new GPUs are all they’re cracked up to be, perhaps MSI can impress with raw performance per dollar.—
Antonio G. Di Benedetto,
The Verge,
7 Jan. 2025
-
There in the hallway, cracking up, was Morgan’s former boss, Scott Bessent.—
John Hyatt,
Forbes,
23 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
That 17-point explosion in the fourth quarter was the on-court highlight.—
William Guillory,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
-
While the fiery explosion is enough to make Emily and Matt believe that Chuck is dead, her ex-boyfriend and fellow agent Baron (Scott) believes otherwise.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
22 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near blowup
Cite this Entry
“Blowup.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blowup. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share