Link Centre Dictionary

explosive

exp·lo·sive

UK/ɛkˈspləʊsɪv/ US/ɪkˈspləʊsɪv/ fairly common slang
adjective (3) noun (1)

adjective

1.

tending or serving to explode or characterized by explosion or sudden outburst

  • “an explosive device”
  • “explosive gas”
  • “explosive force”
  • “explosive violence”
  • “an explosive temper”
Antonyms
Similar
2.

liable to lead to sudden change or violence

  • “an explosive issue”
  • “a volatile situation with troops and rioters eager for a confrontation”
Synonyms
Similar
3.

sudden and loud

  • “an explosive laugh”
Similar

noun

1.

a chemical substance that undergoes a rapid chemical change (with the production of gas) on being heated or struck

Origin

From Latin explōs-, stem of the perfect passive participle of explōdō + the suffix -ive.

Phrases

  • contact explosive
  • explosive belt
  • explosive bolt
  • explosive cyclogenesis
  • explosive decompression
  • explosive gelatin
  • explosive lens
  • explosive sadism
  • Favier explosive
  • high explosive
  • improvised explosive device
  • low explosive

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.