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Definitions

detonate

[det-n-ayt] / ˈdɛt nˌeɪt /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Their explosive payloads did not detonate, and it’s entirely possible they were never meant to.

From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026

"Pulling real users into generated photos without explicit consent is a privacy landmine waiting to detonate," one user wrote on X, external.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

An attempt to detonate or diffuse the bomb failed, so Officer Brian Murray and three others were lowered into the crater.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Still, he says he was happy to detonate his cool, unflappable persona in the latest comedy from “Wet Hot American Summer” and “Role Models” filmmaker David Wain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

After lowering a torpedo filled with nitroglycerin into the belly of the earth, the muddied workers would detonate it, occasionally turning up a fragment of an ancient American Indian spear or an arrowhead.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

She’s known for a soft, whispery vocal tone that occasionally detonates into a scream—here, it’s robotized via vocoder to suggest coldness and distance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

When a nuclear weapon detonates or a serious reactor accident occurs, an immense burst of energy is released in less than a millionth of a second.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026

No one detonates a room with honesty and irritation quite like Bill Burr, and his latest, “Drop Dead Years,” shows the comedian in his fully evolved form.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025

If Wilder detonates early and finishes Herndon quicker than Torrez did, expect someone somewhere to shout: "He's back!"

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025

Halftime Right after you glance at April waving from the bleachers, your stomach detonates: KABOOM! and you lose it right there behind the bench in Pernell’s gym bag.

From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander

When munitions are detonated underwater, the blast can spread contaminants through the surrounding environment.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

The American strike came days after President Trump said the U.S. had removed or detonated all mines in the waterway and warned that any vessel laying new ones would be destroyed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Blasts, initially thought to be exploding gas cylinders, may have been World War Two explosives detonated by the heat of the fires, the local fire commander told local media.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Instead, the round detonated prematurely at 453 meters, or about 1,486 feet, in the air, around 3,300 feet from its firing location, according to the report.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

But on March I, 1954, a thermonuclear weapons test at Bikini in the Marshall Islands detonated at higher yield than expected.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

"It depends on the area where the wreck and munitions lie. Currents and seabed morphology play a major role. In some cases, detonating them can do more harm than good," she explains.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

After safely detonating the device at another location, the police informed Ewan that the device was a practice bomb used to send flare signals 20,000 ft in the air.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

The drone, designed by Perennial Autonomy, a company backed by former Google CEO and billionaire Eric Schmidt using Ukrainian engineers, destroys other drones by detonating close by and has proven popular in Ukraine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

If your goal is to save money on taxes, detonating the tax torpedo is not ideal.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

I scan the area for the pods that will surely be detonating.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins




Vocabulary lists containing detonate


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