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blown-up

blown-up

9 4.6
Suddenly very popular online and shared a lot
  • adjective
  • /bloʊn ʌp/
  • Texting
translation icon : viral
  • For whatever reason, I've blown up on TikTok.
  • got blown-up

Examples

  • Now a few years ago, you were the guy who was kind of first like blown up on social media.

  • Boy, you, you blew up on social, social media.

  • "Now that it has kind of blown up, it's like, 'We told you so,'" he says.

    Blog text (25)
  • Like in my mind, Moves has blown up so much.

  • The sport's blown up.

  • Her funny video about cooking has really blown up on social media, gaining millions of views.

  • The meme went viral; it blown up overnight and everyone was sharing it.

  • After his interview aired, the podcast blew up and gained a massive following.

Synonyms

viral
vsblown-up
  • Texting
108 3.7

Content that many people share quickly online

is informal in tone rather than neutral
blockbusting
vsblown-up
4.3

Very successful and popular, attracting large audiences

focuses on sudden online sharing rather than broad sensational success

Antonyms

84 7.0

Not well known or famous

21 2.0

Not remembered or noticed and left alone

How Popular

viral
  • Texting
108 3.7
blown-up
  • Texting
9 4.6
to trend
  • Texting
53 4.2
popular
1.0
known
2 1.0
obscure
84 7.0

Surface Forms

blown-up positive

Morphology

blown-up = blow up (semi-transparent) = blow + up

The adjectival meaning 'suddenly very popular' is a metaphorical extension of 'blow up' (increase greatly), so the relation is clear but non-literal and informal.

Etymology

Blown-up in informal use comes from blow up, which can mean 'explode' or 'suddenly get much bigger', like a small spark that bursts into a big firework. So a blown-up video is one that suddenly becomes very popular and is shared everywhere.