detonate
/ˈdɛtəˌneɪt/verb
detonate is spelled D-E-T-O-N-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, detonate means “To explode, blow up” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in detonate?
| Letters | 8: D-E-T-O-N-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is detonate?
Detonate appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce detonate?
- UK /ˈdɛtəneɪt/
- US /ˈdɛtəˌneɪt/
- US [ˈdɛɾəˌneɪt]
Detonate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-detonate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of detonate
- detonates present, singular, he/she/it
- detonating participle, present
- detonated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does detonate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To explode, blow up
- 2
To combust or decompose supersonically via shock compression.
- 3
To cause to explode.
The engineers detonated the dynamite and watched the old building collapse.
- 4
To express sudden anger.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Detonate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | détoner |
| Portuguese | detonar, explodir |
| Spanish | detonarse , detonar |
| German | detonieren |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does detonate come from?
First attested in 1729; either borrowed from French détoner or directly from Latin dētonātus, perfect passive participle of dētonō (“to thunder down (strongly); (figuratively, of a person) to thunder, speak threateningly, to rage; to stop thundering”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dē- (“off, from”) + tonō (“to thunder”)). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂-. The current interlingual meaning seems to be a new formation in postclassical times (to thunder → make a large noise → explode), compare explode.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).