explosive

[ik-sploh-siv] /ɪkˈsploʊ sɪv/
adjective
1.
tending or serving to explode:
an explosive temper; Nitroglycerin is an explosive substance.
2.
pertaining to or of the nature of an explosion:
explosive violence.
3.
likely to lead to violence or hostility:
an explosive issue.
4.
Phonetics, plosive.
noun
5.
an explosive agent or substance, as dynamite.
6.
Phonetics, plosive.
Origin
1660-70; explos(ion) + -ive
Related forms
explosively, adverb
explosiveness, noun
nonexplosive, adjective, noun
nonexplosively, adverb
nonexplosiveness, noun
unexplosive, adjective
unexplosively, adverb
unexplosiveness, noun
Examples from the web for explosive
  • It is extremely important to know the difference between a legal consumer firework and a dangerous explosive device.
  • Of course the conflict is political, otherwise it is not viewed as important and explosive as it is now.
  • Evidence of giants simply is too explosive for the current paradigm to handle.
  • Few issues have proved as politically explosive in the presidential primaries as immigration.
  • Beneath the laboratory curiosities lurked an explosive idea.
  • Overblown verbs, explosive nouns, beautifully bungled prepositions.
  • The former is a rather dull game by comparison because it is slower and nowhere near as explosive.
  • We are on the cusp of explosive growth in innovation.
  • There are several reasons for this explosive growth.
  • Scrutinising the progress in other realms of modern technology, he found the same explosive growth.
British Dictionary definitions for explosive

explosive

/ɪkˈspləʊsɪv/
adjective
1.
of, involving, or characterized by an explosion or explosions
2.
capable of exploding or tending to explode
3.
potentially violent or hazardous; dangerous: an explosive situation
4.
(phonetics) another word for plosive
noun
5.
a substance that decomposes rapidly under certain conditions with the production of gases, which expand by the heat of the reaction. The energy released is used in firearms, blasting, and rocket propulsion
6.
a plosive consonant; stop
Derived Forms
explosively, adverb
explosiveness, noun
Word Origin and History for explosive
adj.

1660s, "tending to explode," from Latin explos- (past participle stem of explodere; see explosion) + -ive. As a noun, from 1874. Related: Explosives.