Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use detonation in a sentence

16 example sentences · noun

Detonation means an explosion or sudden report made by the near-instantaneous decomposition or combustion of unstable substances. Specifically, combustion that spreads supersonically via shock compression. Example: “She explodes as multiple magazine detonations rip the ship apart, and is lost with all hands.”

Examples of detonation by meaning

nounAn explosion or sudden report made by the near-instantaneous decomposition or combustion of unstable substances....

  • the detonation of gun cotton

nounAny sudden explosion made by an exothermic process (whether chemical or not) that produces a supersonic shock wave.

  • a nuclear detonation

More sentences with detonation

  • She explodes as multiple magazine detonations rip the ship apart, and is lost with all hands.2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 21:33 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918, archived from the original…. From the entry lost with all hands
  • Like an underwater detonation, the pool was afroth with flapping and splashing.2005, Robin Cody, Ricochet River, page 139. From the entry afroth
  • All lighting was cut off by a close detonation but was partially restored after a short while.1949 January 1, Bureau of Ships, “U.S.S. PERCH (SS176), Loss in Action, Java Sea, 3 March 1942”, in Submarine Report: Depth Charge, Bomb…. From the entry derange
  • Explosions in the hangar therefore might have been either detonations of torpedoes or gasoline vapor explosions.1947 October 30, Bureau of Ships, “SECTION III - DISCUSSION”, in U.S.S. Princeton (CVL23): Loss in Action, Battle for Leyte Gulf, 24…. From the entry gas
  • Nuclear Detonation System uses a relatively simple device to detect the “double flash” of a nuclear detonation anywhere on earth.2015 July, Eileen Patterson, “The Double Flash Meets the Bhangmeter”, in Clay Dillingham, editor, National Security Science, Los Alamos…. From the entry double flash
  • I will use the Priscilla event as a representative example of a thermally precursed blast wave from a nuclear detonation.2010, Charles E. Needham, Blast Waves, page 233. From the entry precurse
  • Low-octane fuel can be a cause of preignition and detonation.2004, Elisabeth H. Dorries, TechOne: Automotive Engine Repair, Cengage Learning, →ISBN, page 58. From the entry low-octane
  • It produces a relatively fast burn or deflagration rather than a detonation and is classified as "low explosive".1998, Michael R Bromwich, The FBI Laboratory: An Investigation into Laboratory Practices & Alleged Misconduct. From the entry deflagration
  • Detonation of underburdened or overburdened explosive charges is extremely dangerous.1984, Employment Safety and Health Guide, page 7249. From the entry underburdened
  • However, when overboost occurs, combustion temperatures rise, and detonation or preignition may result and cause serious structural damage to the engine.1970, United States Department of the Army, General Aircraft Maintenance Manual, page 7. From the entry overboost
  • In any event, this professorial detonation, especially coming as it does from hardline Federalist Society constitutional originalists, has set the cat among the Republican pigeons.2023 September 2, Simon Schama, “The real Rino”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2. From the entry put the cat among the pigeons
  • Pinlighting consisted of the detonation of ultravivid miniature photonuclear bombs, which converted a few ounces of a magnesium isotope into pure visible radiance.1972, Damon Francis Knight, A Science Fiction Argosy, Simon and Schuster, page 203. From the entry ultravivid
  • In both wars a vessel which carried above-water tubes was completely wrecked by the detonation of its own torpedoes–the result of their being hit by the enemy's shell fire.1902 January 11, “The Launch of the Battleship ‘Missouri’”, in Scientific American, volume 86, number 2, New York: Munn, page 20. From the entry torpedo tube
  • Authorities in Huma county arranged for the ice detonation in a river on the border with Russia, as temperature rises have caused the river to thaw at a faster rate.2022 March 31, Harvey Kong, “Chinese workers take explosive approach to clear ice jams”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC…. From the entry Huma

Meaning of detonation

  1. noun An explosion or sudden report made by the near-instantaneous decomposition or combustion of unstable substances. Specifically, combustion that spreads supersonically via shock compression.
  2. noun Any sudden explosion made by an exothermic process (whether chemical or not) that produces a supersonic shock wave.
  3. noun Engine knocking, a type of improper combustion in gasoline piston engines.

Full definition of detonation

Questions about detonation in a sentence

How do you use detonation in a sentence?
Detonation is used as a noun. For example: “She explodes as multiple magazine detonations rip the ship apart, and is lost with all hands.”
What is a short sentence with detonation?
“a nuclear detonation”
What does detonation mean?
Detonation means an explosion or sudden report made by the near-instantaneous decomposition or combustion of unstable substances. Specifically, combustion that spreads supersonically via shock compression.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: detonation (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use detonation in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/detonation. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.