noun
1 sudden loud bursting/exploding
ADJECTIVE
▪ almighty ( esp. BrE ), big , deafening , enormous , great , huge , large , loud , major , massive , powerful , tremendous , violent
▪ minor , small
▪ muffled
▪
There was a muffled ~ somewhere on their right.
▪ distant
▪
The floor shook with a distant ~.
▪ controlled
▪ test
▪
a nuclear test ~
▪ accidental
▪ bomb , chemical , gas , mine , volcanic
▪ atomic , nuclear
▪ terrorist
▪ social ( figurative )
▪
If no action is taken, the country runs the risk of a social ~.
VERB + EXPLOSION
▪ cause , create , set off , trigger
▪
The build-up of gas caused a small ~.
▪ carry out ( esp. BrE )
▪
Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled ~ on the suspect package.
▪ hear
▪ prevent
▪ survive
EXPLOSION + VERB
▪ come , happen , occur , take place
▪
The ~ came 20 minutes after a coded warning to the police.
▪
The ~ occurred just after noon.
▪ erupt , go off
▪
A massive ~ erupted behind him.
▪ rock sth , shake sth
▪
A huge ~ rocked the entire building.
▪
The ~ shook nearby homes.
▪ blow sth out , destroy sth , rip through sth
▪
An ~ blew out the front windows.
▪
A massive ~ ripped through the chemical works.
▪ injure sb , kill sb
▪ cause sth
▪
The ~ caused major structural damage.
▪ echo , sound
▪
A loud ~ echoed around the valley.
PREPOSITION
▪ in an/the ~
▪
Three people were injured in the ~.
2 sudden large increase
ADJECTIVE
▪ sudden
▪ great
▪
a great ~ of creativity
▪ veritable
▪
In the 1860s a veritable ~ of major scientific publications took place.
▪ population
▪ information
▪
How can we keep up with the information ~?
▪ price , wage ( BrE )
VERB + EXPLOSION
▪ see , witness
▪
I believe we will see an ~ in lawsuits of this kind.
EXPLOSION + VERB
▪ occur , take place
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ in
▪
a sudden ~ in the number of students
▪ ~ of
▪
an ~ of interest in learning Japanese