detonate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If “One of Us” is an entertaining family saga of privilege and comeuppance, it is also a consummate novel of suspense in which revelations detonate with lethal accuracy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

Proximity fuses are designed to detonate in the air when they are a certain distance from a target, experts say.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

"There was a fake grenade they'd take with them onto target, it couldn't detonate," said a former SAS operator.

From BBC • May 12, 2025

Once the battery runs out, they will not detonate.

From BBC • Nov. 20, 2024

Large numbers of the shells fired were duds; they failed to detonate.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman