EXPLOSION • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Explosion

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/ɪksplˈoʊʒən/ Listen

noun

Explosion n.

The act of exploding; detonation; a chemical action which causes the sudden formation of a great volume of expanded gas; as, the explosion of gunpowder, of fire damp, etc.

A bursting with violence and loud noise, because of internal pressure; as, the explosion of a gun, a bomb, a steam boiler, etc.

A violent outburst of feeling, manifested by excited language, action, etc.; as, an explosion of wrath. "A formidable explosion of high-church fanaticism."

A sudden and substantial increase; a rapid acceleration; as, the population explosion.

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Etymology of 'Explosion'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Explosion" Quotes from Famous Books

... Arthois, which he sacked and then levelled with the ground. Such was the wretched condition of frontier cities, standing, even in time of peace, with the ground undermined beneath them, and existing every moment, as it were, upon the brink of explosion. ...

— The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-1566 • John Lothrop Motley

... Explosion as an Unknown Fire Hazard. A suggestive review of the conditions of explosions, with ...

— Scientific American Supplement, No. 288 - July 9, 1881 • Various

... performance of "Fra Diavolo," or "The Daughter of the Regiment," or "Frou Frou." On these occasions the buffo did not get drunk, the barytone rested from the torments of his lawsuit, the alto had a charming smile for the sympathetic house, the soprano was as peaceful as a mine immediately after an explosion. Not one of the chorus stayed too long in the cafe; and since Wurzelmann directed, and the orchestra did not have to feel the burning, basilisk eye of Kapellmeister Nothafft resting on it and floating over it, it played with more precision and produced a more pleasing feast for the ears ...

— The Goose Man • Jacob Wassermann

... not, Sir? Shall the Presbyterian Kirk of Scotland have its General Assembly, and the Church of England be denied its Convocation?' He was walking up and down the room while I told him the anecdote; but when he uttered this explosion of high-church zeal, he had come close to my chair, and his eyes flashed with indignation.[1366] I bowed to the storm, and diverted the force of it, by leading him to expatiate on the influence which religion derived from maintaining the church ...

— Life Of Johnson, Vol. 1 • Boswell

... 'There, a good explosion does one good! But why must idle people interfere with busy men? I used to make it up by sitting up and getting up very early indeed; but somehow I feel fit for nothing but sleeping ...

— Life of John Coleridge Patteson • Charlotte M. Yonge

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