as in exploded
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as in popped
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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Recent Examples of detonated
Brad Shoup, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2026
More recently, an al Qaeda operative and suspected mastermind behind the 2000 USS Cole bombing — in which suicide bombers sidled up alongside a US warship, waved to the sailors and then detonated explosives — was charged with perfidy, among other crimes.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
In December the group detonated a car bomb in a municipality located along a top cocaine-trafficking route, killing four police officers.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026
Since the end of the Second World War, the United States and its allies had maintained a system of humanitarian interventionism, until the President so delightedly detonated it.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
Nix quelled doubt from a rocky start with a 295-yard game in that Kansas City win, and detonated for four touchdowns against the Packers three weeks later.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 16 Jan. 2026
Once a year, in October, visitors can attend an open house at the Trinity Site—where the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.
—Sharael Kolberg, Travel + Leisure, 30 Dec. 2025
None of the explosive devices detonated.
—CBS News, 30 Dec. 2025
The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil'a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.
—Arkansas Online, 27 Dec. 2025
Verb
On Unknown Pleasures, the producer had taken Joy Division’s dense goth-punk sound into a frozen field and detonated it.
—Brad Shoup, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2026
More recently, an al Qaeda operative and suspected mastermind behind the 2000 USS Cole bombing — in which suicide bombers sidled up alongside a US warship, waved to the sailors and then detonated explosives — was charged with perfidy, among other crimes.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
In December the group detonated a car bomb in a municipality located along a top cocaine-trafficking route, killing four police officers.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026
Since the end of the Second World War, the United States and its allies had maintained a system of humanitarian interventionism, until the President so delightedly detonated it.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
Nix quelled doubt from a rocky start with a 295-yard game in that Kansas City win, and detonated for four touchdowns against the Packers three weeks later.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 16 Jan. 2026
Once a year, in October, visitors can attend an open house at the Trinity Site—where the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.
—Sharael Kolberg, Travel + Leisure, 30 Dec. 2025
None of the explosive devices detonated.
—CBS News, 30 Dec. 2025
The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil'a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.
—Arkansas Online, 27 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detonated
Adjective
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The other imaged nova, V1405 Cassiopeiae, seemed to unfold in spectacular slow motion, taking more than fifty days before finally ejecting all of its exploded material.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
21 Jan. 2026
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Some astronomers believe the source of the glow to be pulsars — the spinning leftovers of exploded stars — while others point to colliding particles of dark matter, an elusive and invisible form of matter that is believed to be five times more abundant than regular matter.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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All of a sudden, this idea just popped into my head to put the film in the future, with no human beings left, and hardly any animal life, basically only insects.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Jan. 2026
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Noma has previously popped up in Tulum and Kyoto.—
Emily Wilson,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Each earbud is made from polished aluminum and housed in a pearl-blasted charging case made from natural aluminum.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Shouldn't even be that hard to sharpen the blasted thing, let alone twist it.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In a December meeting, commissioners acknowledged customers’ frustrations, but added that the winds blew down hundreds of power lines onto the dry landscape.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
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Others banged on pots and pans and drums, blew whistles and honked car horns.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The chicken and cherry tomatoes roast together on a single sheet pan, then the chicken is topped with cheese and finished with spoonfuls of the smashed, roasted tomatoes.—
Maggie Meyer Glisan,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Jan. 2026
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Officers arrived and identified 48 vehicles with smashed windows.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
28 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The condition can also arise if an object goes through the brain tissue, such as a bullet or shattered piece of skull.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
27 Jan. 2026
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In his apology, Ye claimed that a 2002 car accident that left him with a shattered jaw contributed to his struggle with bipolar I disorder, with which he was officially diagnosed in 2016 and shared with the public in 2018.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Detonated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detonated. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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