as in to explode
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure
the bomb detonated with a thunder that could be heard for blocks in all directions
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Recent Examples of detonate
Determined to finish the job, Dante detonates explosives on the dam itself.
—
EW.com, 24 Aug. 2025
When in range, the fire command was given and the Claymore detonated.
—New Atlas, 24 Aug. 2025
According to South Korean intelligence, there was at least one incident in which a North Korean soldier seeking to avoid capture by Ukrainian forces was killed while trying to detonate a grenade and shouting Kim’s name.
—Stella Kim, NBC news, 22 Aug. 2025
Toussaint is killed in the penultimate episode after Shagan detonates a bomb on Saskia’s computer.
—Nicole Briese, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detonate
EW.com, 24 Aug. 2025
When in range, the fire command was given and the Claymore detonated.
—New Atlas, 24 Aug. 2025
According to South Korean intelligence, there was at least one incident in which a North Korean soldier seeking to avoid capture by Ukrainian forces was killed while trying to detonate a grenade and shouting Kim’s name.
—Stella Kim, NBC news, 22 Aug. 2025
Toussaint is killed in the penultimate episode after Shagan detonates a bomb on Saskia’s computer.
—Nicole Briese, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detonate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonate
Verb
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Conclave feels like a very architectural, sparse, mathematical film, [whereas] Ballad felt to me like a chaotic pop opera that explodes at the seams.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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Just a couple of years later, his profile exploded.—
Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell,
The Atlantic,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Cleveland Browns blew both a golden opportunity at what would’ve been the surprise upset of Week 1 and a chance to add to the Cincinnati Bengals’ early-season misery of the past few years.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The loud, colorful Northern Thai restaurant has always been a celeb magnet—Guillermo del Toro, Shawn Mendes, Jacob Elordi, James Harden and Simu Liu have all popped by in recent years.—
Kate Dingwall,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Shares of Oracle surged 26% in Tuesday’s extended trading hours, after the tech old guard reported that multicloud database revenue from Amazon, Google and Microsoft grew at the eye-popping rate of 1,529% in its last quarter, fueled by demand for AI servers.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detonate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonate. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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