Detonate

Pronunciation: /dɪˈtɑːˌneɪt/

Definitions of detonate

verb to explode or cause to explode with suddenness and violence

Example Sentences

A1 The fireworks will detonate in the sky at midnight.

A2 The bomb squad carefully detonated the suspicious package.

B1 The controlled demolition team will detonate the old building next week.

B2 The terrorist plot was foiled before they could detonate the explosives.

C1 The scientist demonstrated how to safely detonate volatile chemicals in the lab.

C2 The military used a drone strike to detonate the enemy's ammunition depot.

Examples of detonate in a Sentence

formal The bomb squad was able to safely detonate the explosive device.

informal Don't mess around with that, it could detonate at any moment!

slang I heard that gossip is about to detonate in our friend group.

figurative Her anger seemed to slowly build up until it finally detonated in a fiery outburst.

Grammatical Forms of detonate

• past tense: detonated
• plural: detonates
• comparative: more detonating
• superlative: most detonating
• present tense: detonates
• future tense: will detonate
• perfect tense: has detonated
• continuous tense: is detonating
• singular: detonate
• positive degree: detonate
• infinitive: to detonate
• gerund: detonating
• participle: detonating

Origin and Evolution of detonate

First Known Use: 1705 year

Language of Origin: Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'detonate' originated from the Latin word 'detonare' which means 'to thunder down'.

Evolution of the word: Originally used to describe the act of causing something to explode with a sudden release of energy, the word 'detonate' has evolved to also encompass the idea of causing a sudden and dramatic reaction or event.