1
as in scene
an outburst or display of excited anger
the boss had another blowup when someone fouled up the copy machine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to anger
to become very angry
she blew up at everybody after a very long and very bad day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to detonate
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure
the building blew up because of a gas leak
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to smash
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive
blew up the biggest rocks and then cleared them away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to crack up
to praise or publicize lavishly and often excessively
the advertisement blows the new soda up to the point where I half expected to be transported to a higher level of consciousness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blowup
Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2025
For example, France’s Killian (Killian Emmanuel Treport) and Syssy (Sya Dembélé) tended to opt for punchy blowups that were just as, if not more memorable than the longer power move combinations from other competitors.
—Jason Pu, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Some months later, the Russians blew up the dam, leaving this part of the city underwater for weeks.
—Ken Harbaugh, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for blowup
Noun
The final episode dedicates a large portion of time to what went into Jones mending fences with Johnson in 2023 before finally putting him in the team’s Ring of Honor 29 years after their nuclear blowup.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2025
For example, France’s Killian (Killian Emmanuel Treport) and Syssy (Sya Dembélé) tended to opt for punchy blowups that were just as, if not more memorable than the longer power move combinations from other competitors.
—Jason Pu, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Verb
After noticing that more people were commuting by bicycle, designers tweaked the brand’s windproof jacket, shortening its length and tightening the sleeves to prevent air from blowing up a rider’s arms.
—Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Some months later, the Russians blew up the dam, leaving this part of the city underwater for weeks.
—Ken Harbaugh, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for blowup
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blowup
Noun
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Robinson also explained the obscure engravings found on bullet casings that were left behind at the scene.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
17 Sep. 2025
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Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office What To Know Videos posted on social media after the shooting showed officers carrying Zinn from the scene as students can be heard screaming.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As part of the new study, Knutsen and her team programmed Perseverance's cameras to watch the sky after solar eruptions known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) blasted in the direction of Mars.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Kamchatka sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic activity frequently triggers earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.—
Amanda Castro
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The attack angered the Gulf nation, and left the only diplomatic track working to bring a ceasefire to Gaza in limbo.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
19 Sep. 2025
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Kimmel's comments on Monday night about the suspect in Charlie Kirk's killing angered the administration.—
Clare Lombardo,
NPR,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instead, the redesign detonated a culture war.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
18 Sep. 2025
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The drone snagged on the netting, then detonated.—
Ken Harbaugh,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As the first half drew to a close, Calvert-Lewin towered above Kenny Tete to nod a ball down that Sean Longstaff would eventually smash off the crossbar.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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In the worst-case scenario, a collision could smash a satellite into many more pieces of space debris, which each then go on to collide with more satellites, which produces more chunks of space junk, and so on and so forth.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The height difference between the dogs left people cracking up.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
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Are wealth and success all they're cracked up to be?—
Jessica Wang,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Kemp looked at the ceiling and blew a huff of air when Schwartz announced the sentence.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
24 Aug. 2025
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Getty Images To date, the post has amassed more than 900 comments from TikTok viewers, many of them poking fun at the golden retriever mother's annoyed expression and shallow huffs.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Noun
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Sure, other fates are possible, like direct collapse to a black hole or explosions through the pair-instability mechanism, but a core-collapse supernova (also known as a type II supernova) represents the fate of the majority of the most massive stars ever to be born.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
12 Sep. 2025
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Such an explosion would happen to the smallest possible black holes, at most, once every 100,000 years, according to previous theories.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Blowup.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blowup. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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