detonate
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin dētonō, dētonātus, which meant "to stop thundering", e.g. as in weather (dē- (“from”) + tonāre (“thunder”)). The current English meaning seems to be a new formation in postclassical times.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdɛtəneɪt/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɛʔ.ə.neɪt/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Verb edit
detonate (third-person singular simple present detonates, present participle detonating, simple past and past participle detonated)
- (intransitive) To explode; to blow up. Specifically, to combust or decompose supersonically via shock compression.
- (transitive) To cause to explode.
- The engineers detonated the dynamite and watched the old building collapse.
- (intransitive, figurative) To express sudden anger.
- 2013, Michael J. Restrepo, The Custody Officer, page 116:
- As Oscar turned to greet Yvonne, she could see every muscle in his body contract in anger. Then he detonated. “What the hell are you doing here without an appointment? […]
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
- (antonym(s) of "with respect to speed of prorogation"): deflagrate
Hypernyms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
to explode
|
to cause to explode
|
Anagrams edit
Ido edit
Adverb edit
detonate
- adverbial present passive participle of detonar
Italian edit
Etymology 1 edit
Verb edit
detonate
- inflection of detonare:
Etymology 2 edit
Participle edit
detonate f pl
Anagrams edit
Latin edit
Verb edit
dētonāte
Spanish edit
Verb edit
detonate
- second-person singular voseo imperative of detonar combined with te