EXPLODE

v. 1 blow up, burst, blast, fly apart, go off, erupt, fulminate; set off, detonate Police exploded the bomb after clearing the area Rockets exploded in the night sky. 2 reject, discredit, refute, repudiate, disprove, debunk, belie, give the lie to, Slang pick holes in, poke or shoot full of holes Ptolemy's geocentric theory has been thoroughly exploded 3 lose one's temper, rant, rave, rage, storm, throw a tantrum, Colloq get into a tizzy, blow one's top, fly off the handle, go through or hit the roof, hit the ceiling; Slang lose one's cool, go up the wall, US blow one's stack or cool, flip (one's lid), freak out He exploded when he learned his car had been smashed up