detonating

verb

present participle of detonate
as in exploding
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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Example 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 detonating Just weeks before her confrontation with Cunningham, Carrington sent shockwaves through the WNBA by publicly detonating her former relationship on social media. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Anvil is a smaller, faster aircraft designed to destroy hostile drones by colliding with them or detonating nearby. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026 According to a report in German newspaper Bild, investigators believe only a technical malfunction may have prevented the device attached to the drone from detonating. — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026 Brown says the firm also explored investing in an Israeli start-up developing underground munitions capable of tunneling beneath targets before detonating, but that deal ultimately fell through. — Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 22 July 2026 The video shows these drones flying into the Russian positions and detonating their payloads during the assault. — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 To put it simply—detonating nuclear weapons in space can be as disastrous as detonating them on Earth. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 July 2026 Many older interceptor missiles use blast-fragmentation warheads, detonating near the incoming missile and destroying it with high-speed metal fragments. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026 With this in mind, NATO ran an exercise in June imagining drones detonating as a ship enters the port. — Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 6 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonating
  1. exploding
  2. blowing
  3. popping
Verb
  • Those reforms led to huge reduction in poverty, an exploding middle class and a scramble by foreign companies to access the lucrative Chinese market.
    — CNN Staff, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The Tremont fire comes just days after an exploding Tesla in Seattle sent two firefighters to the hospital.
    — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of exploding
Verb
  • City leaders have accused Lineage, whose warehouse in Boyle Heights was destroyed by fire, of blowing past the city’s 45-day deadline for removing millions of pounds of rotting food from its property.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Inequality has accelerated at an ever-growing pace, blowing past that of any previous eras, including the Gilded Age.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of blowing
Verb
  • The 25-year-old from California opened the final with some swagger, popping four aces in the first game, but his self-assurance quickly ebbed.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The eye-popping gains of Nvidia, Micron, Alphabet and other AI stocks have helped inflate the net worths of millions of Americans by lifting the value of their retirement nest eggs, college savings plans and brokerage accounts.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of popping

Browse Nearby Words

detonates
detonating
detonation
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Cite this Entry

“Detonating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonating. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on detonating

Nglish: Translation of detonating for Spanish Speakers

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