Category:Explosive

Ex*plo"sive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. explosif.]

Defn: Driving or bursting out with violence and noise; causing explosion; as, the explosive force of gunpowder.

explosive Ex*plo"sive, n.

1. An explosive agent; a compound or mixture susceptible of a rapid chemical reaction, as gunpowder, or nitro-glycerine.

2. A sound produced by an explosive impulse of the breath; (Phonetics) one of consonants p, b, t, d, k, g, which are sounded with a sort of explosive power of voice.

Note: [See Guide to Pronunciation, sq. root 155-7, 184.]