explosive

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɛkˈspləʊsɪv/, /ɪkˈspləʊsɪv/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ɛkˈsploʊsɪv/, /ɪkˈsploʊsɪv/

  • Audio (Texas):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ekˈspləʉsɪv/, /ekˈsplɐʉsɪv/, /ɪkˈspləʉsɪv/, /ɪkˈsplɐʉsɪv/

  • Audio (Queensland):

    (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ekˈsplɐʉsɪv/, /ɪkˈsplɐʉsɪv/

Adjective

explosive (comparative more explosive, superlative most explosive)

2. Able to, or likely to, explode.

   Antonyms: implosive; inert; nonflammable

   Coordinate terms: incendiary; flammable

   an explosive device

4. Having the character of an explosion.

   an explosive fire

   2. (cellular automata) Of a specific cellular automaton rule, tending to exhibit infinite and unpredictable growth when starting from finite random patterns.
      • 1992 June 2, Dave Boll, “Variations on Conway's LIFE”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[1] (Usenet):

        Notes: A rule set that (very probably) results in explosive growth; certainly in area if not population.

      • 1994 April 4, Robert Andreen, “CA rules”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[2] (Usenet):

        For example, putting a 1 at (0: 1,1) will cause explosive growth in all directions, putting a 1 at (0: 0,2A) will cause pairs of diagonal cells in a 2x2 square to alternate on and off, putting a 1 at (1: 4,4) will cause all solid 1 areas to stay 1 for another cycle, etc.

      • 2003 May 12, Ilmari Karonen, “Gliders in 4-neighbor semitotalistic 2D cellular automata”, in comp.theory.cell-automata‎^[3] (Usenet):

        If the rule is further chosen so that active cells can (and must) expand on an inactive background but inactive cells can't do so on an active background (or vice versa), then non-explosive growth becomes possible.

6. (figurative) Rapidly accelerating.

   Near-synonym: plyometric

   explosive movements

8. (figurative) Shocking; startling.

   an explosive accusation

10. (slang) Easily driven to anger, usually with reference to a person.

    He has an explosive personality.

12. (phonetics, archaic) Synonym of plosive

    the explosive consonants

Derived terms

• autoexplosive
• contact explosive
• cryptoexplosive
• electroexplosive
• explosive belt
• explosive bolt
• explosive cyclogenesis
• explosive decompression
• explosive gelatin
• explosive lens
• explosively
• explosiveness
• explosive sadism
• improvised explosive device
• inexplosive
• intermittent explosive disorder
• microexplosive
• nonexplosive
• superexplosive
• superexplosively
• unexplosive

Related terms

• explode

Translations

with the capability to, or likely to, explode

• Arabic: اِنْفِجَارِيّ (infijāriyy), مُتَفَجِّر (mutafajjir)
• Armenian: պայթուցիկ (hy) (paytʻucʻik)
• Belarusian: выбухо́вы (vybuxóvy)
• Bulgarian: избухли́в (bg) (izbuhlív), взри́вен (vzríven)
• Catalan: explosiu (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 易爆 (zh) (yìbào)

• Czech: výbušný, explozivní
• Danish: eksplosiv, sprængfarlig (da)
• Dutch: explosief (nl)
• Esperanto: eksploda
• Estonian: plahvatusohtlik
• Finnish: räjähtävä (fi), räjähdysherkkä (fi)
• French: explosif (fr)
• Galician: explosivo
• Georgian: ფეთქებადი (petkebadi)
• German: explosiv (de)
• Greek: εκρηκτικός (el) (ekriktikós)
• Hindi: विस्फोटक (hi) (visphoṭak)
• Hungarian: robbanó (hu), robbanékony (hu), robbanásra hajlamos
• Italian: esplosivo (it)
• Latvian: eksplozīvs, sprāgstošs
• Lithuanian: sprogstamasis
• Macedonian: експлози́вен (eksplozíven)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: eksplosiv (no)

  Nynorsk: eksplosiv

• Piedmontese: esplosiv
• Polish: wybuchowy (pl)
• Portuguese: explosivo (pt)
• Romanian: exploziv (ro)
• Russian: взры́вчатый (ru) (vzrývčatyj), взрывно́й (ru) (vzryvnój)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: е̏ксплозӣван

  Roman: ȅksplozīvan (sh)

• Slovak: výbušný, explozívny
• Slovene: eksploziven
• Spanish: explosivo (es)
• Swedish: explosiv (sv)
• Turkish: patlayıcı (tr)
• Ukrainian: вибухо́вий (vybuxóvyj)
• Yiddish: אויפֿרײַסיק (oyfraysik)
• Welsh: ffrwydrol (cy)

having the character of an explosion

• Bulgarian: взри́вен (vzríven)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 爆炸的 (zh) (bàozhà de)

• Czech: výbušný
• Danish: eksplosiv, eksplosionsagtig
• Finnish: räjähdysmäinen (fi)
• Galician: explosivo
• Greek: εκρηκτικός (el) (ekriktikós)
• Portuguese: explosivo (pt)
• Russian: взрывно́й (ru) (vzryvnój)
• Spanish: explosivo (es)
• Swedish: explosiv (sv), explosionsartad (sv)
• Turkish: patlayıcı (tr)
• Welsh: ffrwydrol (cy)

shocking — see shocking

easily driven to anger

• Bulgarian: избухли́в (bg) (izbuhlív)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 暴躁 (zh) (bàozào)

• Czech: výbušný
• Danish: heftig, opfarende
• Finnish: räjähtävä (fi), äkkipikainen (fi)
• German: aufbrausend (de), explosiv (de)
• Hungarian: robbanékony (hu)
• Italian: irascibile (it), collerico (it), iracondo (it)
• Polish: wybuchowy (pl)
• Portuguese: explosivo (pt)
• Russian: вспы́льчивый (ru) (vspýlʹčivyj)
• Turkish: fevri (tr)
• Welsh: ffrwydrol (cy), chwyrn (cy)

Noun

explosive (plural explosives)

1. Any explosive substance.
2. (linguistics, dated) A plosive.
   • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:

     The words of these songs were either without meaning, or derived from an idiom with which Watt, a very fair linguist, had no acquaintance. The open a sound was predominant, and the explosives k and g.

Derived terms

• contact explosive
• Favier explosive
• high explosive
• low explosive
• plastic explosive
• primary explosive
• secondary explosive
• sila-explosive
• Sprengel explosive
• tertiary explosive

Translations

explosive substance

• Arabic: مُتَفَجِّرَة f (mutafajjira), مَادَّة مُتَفَجِّرَة f (mādda mutafajjira)
• Armenian: պայթուցիկ նյութ (paytʻucʻik nyutʻ)
• Belarusian: выбухо́вае рэ́чыва n (vybuxóvaje réčyva), выбухо́ўка f (vybuxóŭka), узрыўча́тка f (uzryŭčátka)
• Bulgarian: експлози́в m (eksplozív), взри́вно вещество́ n (vzrívno veštestvó)
• Catalan: explosiu (ca) m
• Cherokee: ᎠᏔᏍᎩᏍᎩ (atasgisgi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 炸藥 / 炸药 (zh) (zhàyào), 爆炸物 (zh) (bàozhàwù)

• Czech: výbušnina f
• Danish: sprængstof n, eksplosiv n
• Dutch: explosief (nl) n, springstof (nl) f, plofstof
• Estonian: lõhkeaine
• Faroese: spreingievni n
• Finnish: räjähde (fi), räjähdysaine (fi)
• French: explosif (fr) m
• Galician: explosivo m
• Georgian: ფეთქებადი ნივთიერება (petkebadi nivtiereba)
• German: Sprengstoff (de) m; Sprengmittel n
• Hindi: विस्फोटक (hi) m (visphoṭak)
• Hungarian: robbanószer (hu), robbanóanyag (hu)
• Italian: esplosivo (it) m
• Japanese: 爆発物 (ばくはつぶつ, bakuhatsubutsu)
• Korean: 폭발물(爆發物) (ko) (pokbalmul)
• Lao: ວັດຖຸລະເບີດ (wat thu la bœ̄t)
• Latin: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: sprāgstviela f
• Lithuanian: sprogmuo m, sprogstamoji medžiaga f
• Macedonian: експлози́в m (eksplozív)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: тэсрэх бодис (tesrex bodis)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: eksplosiv (no) n, sprengstoff (no) n

  Nynorsk: eksplosiv n, sprengstoff n

• Persian: مادهٔ منفجره (fa) (mâdde-ye monfajere)
• Piedmontese: esplosiv
• Plautdietsch: Sprenjstoff n
• Polish: materiał wybuchowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: explosivo (pt) m
• Romanian: exploziv (ro) n
• Russian: взры́вчатое вещество́ (ru) n (vzrývčatoje veščestvó), взрывча́тка (ru) f (vzryvčátka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: експло̀зӣв m

  Roman: eksplòzīv (sh) m

• Slovak: výbušnina f, výbušné zariadenie n
• Slovene: eksploziv m, razstrelivo n, eksplozivna snov f
• Spanish: explosivo (es) m
• Swedish: sprängmedel (sv) n, sprängämne (sv) n
• Tagalog: pampasabog
• Thai: วัตถุระเบิด (wát-tù-rá-bə̀ət)
• Turkish: patlayıcı madde (tr)
• Ukrainian: вибухо́ва речовина́ f (vybuxóva rečovyná), вибухі́вка f (vybuxívka)
• Vietnamese: chất nổ (vi), thuốc nổ
• Welsh: ffrwydryn m

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

explosive

1. feminine singular of explosif

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

explosive

1. inflection of explosiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Swedish

Adjective

explosive

1. definite natural masculine singular of explosiv