EXPLOSION

n. 1 blast, bang, report, burst, boom, clap, crack, eruption, crash, outburst, fulmination; detonation The explosion shook the entire house 2 outburst, outbreak, paroxysm, upheaval, flare-up, eruption, burst, fit, spasm, tantrum, Colloq Brit paddy or paddywhack or paddywack, wax The unrest among the people is building up to an explosion 3 increase, burgeoning or bourgeoning, expansion, welling up, mushrooming The population explosion has caused a housing shortage