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explosive

/ɛkˈsploʊsɪv/adjective, noun

explosive is spelled E-X-P-L-O-S-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, explosive means “Able to, or likely to, explode” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in explosive?

Letters9: E-X-P-L-O-S-I-V-E
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing9.3 times per million words; the 7,445th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is explosive?

Explosive appears 9.3 times per million words in written English, the 7,445th 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 explosive?

  • UK /ɛkˈspləʊsɪv/
  • UK /ɪkˈspləʊsɪv/
  • US /ɛkˈsploʊsɪv/

Explosive 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)-Wodencafe-explosive.wav, En-au-explosive.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with explosive?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as explosive from its last stressed vowel (/oʊsɪv/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of explosive

  • more explosive comparative
  • most explosive superlative
  • explosives plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does explosive mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Able to, or likely to, explode.

    an explosive device

  2. 2

    Having the character of an explosion.

    an explosive fire

  3. 3

    Of a specific cellular automaton rule, tending to exhibit infinite and unpredictable growth when starting from finite random patterns.

  4. 4

    Rapidly accelerating.

    Near-synonym: plyometric

  5. 5

    Shocking; startling.

    an explosive accusation

  6. 6

    slangEasily driven to anger, usually with reference to a person.

    He has an explosive personality.

  7. 7

    archaicSynonym of plosive.

    the explosive consonants

noun

  1. 1

    Any explosive substance.

  2. 2

    datedA plosive.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Explosive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchexplosif (with the capability to, or likely to, explode)
Germanexplosiv (with the capability to, or likely to, explode), aufbrausend (easily driven to anger), Sprengstoff, Sprengmittel (explosive substance)
Portugueseexplosivo (with the capability to, or likely to, explode)
Spanishexplosivo (with the capability to, or likely to, explode)

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 explosive come from?

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

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after explosive