What does "explosive" mean?

1. (likely to explode) able to explode or likely to cause an explosion. 2. (rapidly increasing) increasing or growing very quickly in a short time. 3. (easily angered) likely to become very angry suddenly. 4. (a substance that explodes) a substance, like dynamite, that can cause an explosion. 5. (linguistics) a speech sound made by stopping the air and then letting it out suddenly.

explosive

adj. · n.

US //ɪksˈpɫoʊsɪv// UK //ɛksplˈəʊsɪv// ex·plo·sive

1 likely to explode (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Science

able to explode or likely to cause an explosion.

capable of or likely to cause a sudden, violent release of energy.

Example

The workers had to be very careful while moving the explosive chemicals.

Example

The laboratory was evacuated immediately after technicians discovered an explosive mixture had been left in an unventilated container overnight.
- volatile
- unstable
- stable
- inert
2 rapidly increasing (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

increasing or growing very quickly in a short time.

characterised by a sudden and rapid increase or expansion.

Example

The city has seen explosive growth in its population over the last decade.

Example

The explosive expansion of the tech sector transformed the sleepy coastal town into a global hub for innovation within five years.
- gradual
- slow

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3 easily angered (adj.)
C1 Advanced Informal

likely to become very angry suddenly.

tending to have sudden, violent outbursts of temper.

Example

He has an explosive personality and often shouts when things go wrong.

Example

Colleagues often avoided the manager during high-pressure weeks, fearing his explosive temper and unpredictable reactions to minor setbacks.
- volatile
- fiery
- short tempered
- calm
- placid
4 a substance that explodes (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a substance, like dynamite, that can cause an explosion.

a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion.

Example

The police found a small amount of illegal explosives in the basement.

Example

Demolition experts placed the explosives at strategic points along the base of the old stadium to ensure a controlled collapse.
- bomb
- dynamite
5 linguistics (n.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Archaic Linguistics

a speech sound made by stopping the air and then letting it out suddenly.

a consonant produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract and then releasing it suddenly. Often used as a synonym for 'plosive'.

Example

The teacher explained how to pronounce the explosive 'p' sound clearly.

Example

In older phonetic texts, the term explosive was frequently employed to describe the sudden release of breath characteristic of sounds like /b/ and /k/.
- plosive
- stop

Origin

From Latin explōs-, stem of the perfect passive participle of explōdō + the suffix -ive.