Hypertext Webster Gateway: "explosive"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Explosive \Ex*plo"sive\, a. [Cf. F. explosif.]
Driving or bursting out with violence and noise; causing
explosion; as, the explosive force of gunpowder.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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, [root] 155-7, 184.]
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
explosive
adj 1: tending or serving to explode or characterized by explosion
or sudden outburst; "an explosive device"; "explosive
gas"; "explosive force"; "explosive violence"; "an
explosive temper" [ant: {nonexplosive}]
2: liable to lead to sudden change or violence; "an explosive
issue"; "a volatile situation with troops and rioters
eager for a confrontation" [syn: {volatile}]
3: sudden and loud; "an explosive laugh"
n : a chemical substance that undergoes a rapid chemical change
(with the production of gas) on being heated or struck
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