explosive

B2 · Upper Intermediate

adj. increasing or growing very quickly in a short time.

adj. characterised by a sudden and rapid increase or expansion.

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

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

C1 · Advanced Informal

adj. likely to become very angry suddenly.

adj. tending to have sudden, violent outbursts of temper.

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

“Colleagues often avoided the manager during high-pressure weeks, fearing his explosive temper and unpredictable reactions to minor setbacks.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

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

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

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

“Demolition experts placed the explosives at strategic points along the base of the old stadium to ensure a controlled collapse.”

C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Linguistics Technical · Archaic

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

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

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

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