Antonyms for explode

Grammar : Verb

Spell : ik-splohd

Phonetic Transcription : ɪkˈsploʊd

Definition of explode

Origin : 1530s, "to reject with scorn," from Latin explodere "drive out or off by clapping, hiss off, hoot off," originally theatrical, "to drive an actor off the stage by making noise," hence "drive out, reject" (a sense surviving in an exploded theory), from ex- "out" (see ex-) + plaudere "to clap the hands, applaud," of uncertain origin. Athenian audiences were highly demonstrative. clapping and shouting approval, stamping, hissing, and hooting for disapproval. The Romans seem to have done likewise.
At the close of the performance of a comedy in the Roman theatre one of the actors dismissed the audience, with a request for their approbation, the expression being usually plaudite, vos plaudite, or vos valete et plaudite. [William Smith, "A First Latin Reading Book," 1890]
English used it to mean "drive out with violence and sudden noise" (1650s), later, "go off with a loud noise" (American English, 1790); sense of "to burst with destructive force" is first recorded 1882; of population, 1959. Related: Exploded; exploding.

verb blow up
verb discredit

Example sentences :

"I ought to find the connection and explode it," repeated Caradoc doggedly.
Extract from : « The Cruise of the Dry Dock » by T. S. Stribling

Hurriedly he tried a half dozen more cartridges but they refused to explode.
Extract from : « The Solar Magnet » by Sterner St. Paul Meek

At that very moment the Arabella seemed to explode as she swept by.
Extract from : « Captain Blood » by Rafael Sabatini

The flame is so completely hollow that even it cannot explode the powder.
Extract from : « The Story of a Tinder-box » by Charles Meymott Tidy

That they could not explode of themselves in that way seems certain.
Extract from : « The Destroyer » by Burton Egbert Stevenson

"La Liberté was no longer there to explode," Delcassé objected grimly.
Extract from : « The Destroyer » by Burton Egbert Stevenson

His appearance in the fray was like that of a bombshell timed to explode in its midst.
Extract from : « The Mountain Divide » by Frank H. Spearman

It also, happily, failed to explode, but we were sure some one must have been killed by it.
Extract from : « War from the Inside » by Frederick L. (Frederick Lyman) Hitchcock

It was a lot easier just to let her explode and then fizzle out.
Extract from : « The Odyssey of Sam Meecham » by Charles E. Fritch

And after all, their bombshell did not hurt anybody when they did explode it.
Extract from : « Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete » by Albert Bigelow Paine

Synonyms for explode

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019