as in explosion
the act or an instance of exploding
there was a series of detonations around the base of the condemned building, causing it to come crashing down in a matter of minutes
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Recent Examples of detonation
The 30,000-pound bomb is comprised of steel, explosive and a fuse programmed to a specific detonation time.
—
Staff and Wire Reports, Boston Herald, 26 June 2025
The detonations, sometimes multiple times a day for weeks in a row, clearly weren’t legal.
—Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 June 2025
Israeli achievements in technical intelligence, cyberattacks, pager detonations, precision killings, mass civilian carnage, and more, may point the way to methods that will be employed by all and sundry.
—Hussein Agha, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Key finds will also include fragments, shrapnel and device components, to help reconstruct the method of detonation.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for detonation
Staff and Wire Reports, Boston Herald, 26 June 2025
The detonations, sometimes multiple times a day for weeks in a row, clearly weren’t legal.
—Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 June 2025
Israeli achievements in technical intelligence, cyberattacks, pager detonations, precision killings, mass civilian carnage, and more, may point the way to methods that will be employed by all and sundry.
—Hussein Agha, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Key finds will also include fragments, shrapnel and device components, to help reconstruct the method of detonation.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for detonation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonation
Noun
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The Yankees’ double-digit explosion on a rainy night provided plenty of breathing room for a bullpen that has been taxed and decimated by injuries.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
9 July 2025
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These new requirements, including this relatively tight deadline, could trigger an explosion of litigation across the state as condo associations begin to reassess governing documents, assessment structures, and recorded declarations, Pardo said.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
Noun
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Featuring hundreds of diagrams from the past millennium, ranging from financial charts to maps of volcanic eruptions, the exhibition provides the kind of survey that brings definition to an entire category of visual communication.—
Jonathon Keats,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Earth processes – such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions – also trigger cascading hazards, often with long-lasting effects.—
Brian J. Yanites,
The Conversation,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Detonation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonation. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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