detonate
UK /ˈdɛtəneɪt/ · US /ˈdɛtəˌneɪt/ verb
Forms detonates detonating detonated
- verb (intransitive) To explode, blow up
- verb (especially) To combust or decompose supersonically via shock compression.
- verb (transitive) To cause to explode. “The engineers detonated the dynamite and watched the old building collapse.”
- verb (intransitive, figurative) To express sudden anger.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
First attested in 1729; either borrowed from French détoner or directly from Latin dētonātus, perfect passive participle of dētonō (“to thunder down (strongly); (figuratively, of a person) to thunder, speak threateningly, to rage; to stop thundering”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dē- (“off, from”) + tonō (“to thunder”)). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂-. The current interlingual meaning seems to be a new formation in postclassical times (to thunder → make a large noise → explode), compare explode.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To explode with a sudden report; as, niter detonates with sulphur.
- verb To cause to explode; to cause to burn or inflame with a sudden report.
Etymology [L. detonare, v. i., to thunder down; de + tonare to thunder; akin to E. thunder. See Thunder, and cf. Detonize.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “detonate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details