Explosive Meaning
/ɛkˈspləʊsɪv/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjAble to, or likely to, explode.
adjHaving the character of an explosion.
Sentence Examples
There has been an explosive increase in the demand for labor.
The cheetah uses a combination of stealth and explosive acceleration to catch its prey.
The construction crew used explosive charges to clear the rocky hillside.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The chemist handled the ____ material with extreme caution and care.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The situation in the Middle East is highly ____ and could lead to another major war.
Word Origin & History
From Latin explōs-, stem of the perfect passive participle of explōdō + the suffix -ive.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Notes: A rule set that (very probably) results in explosive growth; certainly in area if not population."
— 1992 June 2, Dave Boll, “Variations on Conway's LIFE”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
"For example, putting a 1 at (0: 1,1) will cause explosive growth in all directions, putting a 1 at (0: 0,2A) will cause pairs of diagonal cells in a 2x2 square to alternate on and off, putting a 1 at (1: 4,4) will cause all solid 1 areas to stay 1 for another cycle, etc."
— 1994 April 4, Robert Andreen, “CA rules”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
"If the rule is further chosen so that active cells can (and must) expand on an inactive background but inactive cells can't do so on an active background (or vice versa), then non-explosive growth becomes possible."
— 2003 May 12, Ilmari Karonen, “Gliders in 4-neighbor semitotalistic 2D cellular automata”, in comp.theory.cell-automata (Usenet):
"The words of these songs were either without meaning, or derived from an idiom with which Watt, a very fair linguist, had no acquaintance. The open a sound was predominant, and the explosives k and g."
— 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The chemist handled the ____ material with extreme caution and care.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The situation in the Middle East is highly ____ and could lead to another major war.