explode
Definitions
To burst apart suddenly and violently, often with a loud noise
（猛烈地）爆炸，炸开
To increase suddenly and dramatically in number or intensity
激增，迅速膨胀
To react with sudden, violent emotion, especially anger
（情绪）爆发，勃然大怒
To prove (a theory or belief) to be false; to discredit
驳倒，揭穿（谬论）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedex- (out) + plod (from Latin plaudere, to clap) — and the story is a shock. In a Roman theater, audiences drove a bad actor OFF the stage by clapping and hooting him out; explodere meant 'to clap/jeer someone out.' From 'reject loudly' it slid to 'be cast out,' and finally to the modern image: a sudden, violent, noisy bursting outward. The original sense survives in 'explode a myth.'
Root plod still carries 12 more wordsWhy It Means This
Why does a word built from 'clap' mean 'blow up'? The link is the Roman theater. To explode someone was to clap and hoot them off the stage — a loud, collective act of rejection. The noise and the sudden violence of that ejection stuck to the word even after the theater meaning faded, leaving us with a sudden noisy burst. That is also why 'explode a myth' still works: you are driving a false idea off the stage.
Common Collocations
- 1.explode into violence爆发成暴力
- 2.a bomb explodes炸弹爆炸
- 3.prices explode价格暴涨
- 4.explode with anger勃然大怒
- 5.explode a myth揭穿谬论
Example Sentences
- 1.
The bomb exploded seconds after the building was cleared.
- 2.
Demand for electric cars has exploded over the past five years.
- 3.
He exploded with rage when he heard the news.
- 4.
The study explodes the myth that we only use ten percent of our brains.