high explosive
13
5.8
- noun
- /haɪ ɪkˈspləʊsɪv/
- Specialized
:
alto explosivo
- Sure, fishing with high explosives is dangerous and illegal—let alone not very sporting.
- high explosive detonation
Or the dog can smell high explosives.
- Or the dog can smell high explosives.
Examples
-
The useful energy, or blasting strength value (BSV), of high explosives is about 1500 kJ/kg.
Academic text (1995) -
The demolition crew carefully placed the high explosive charges to ensure a controlled blast.
-
Most human problems can be solved with high explosives.
-
If you have what turns out to be thousands of pounds of high explosives, is a quarter of a mile enough?
Blog text (1) -
This entire level is rigged with enough high explosives to take out the top 50 stories.
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From the craters it looks like they used a high explosive, possibly military grade.
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Very few problems can't be solved with a suitable application of high explosives.
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Both Simmons and Possi have suggested that military high explosives are an appropriate solution to this problem.
Blog text (17) -
From October 1939 through May 1945, the Royal Air Force dropped over one-half million tons of high explosives on sixty-one German cities.
Academic text (1991) -
Although wildly inaccurate, their high explosive warhead could be devastating at close range.
Synonyms
336
5.5
A chemical that reacts very fast, making gas and heat to blast things
9
6.1
A soft, strong material used to make bombs or to break large things
6
4.2
An amount of material placed to blow up at one time
1
7.3
A weapon that sprays fuel into the air and then sets it on fire to make a very strong blast
1
5.8
A chemical that can explode and cause a sudden violent reaction
1
6.2
A mix of chemicals that can burst apart with great force when heated or hit
A small bomb that makes a sudden blast to break things like a wall or lock
A strong chemical charge in shells or bombs that makes a violent blast
Antonyms
- Specialized
1
7.6
An explosive that burns slowly and does not make a strong shock wave like black powder
How Violent
- Specialized
13
5.8
- Specialized
- Specialized
336
5.5
- Specialized
1
7.6
180
1.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is transparently built from 'high' (indicating greater degree/intensity) + 'explosive' (capable of exploding), so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it means an item that is very/strongly explosive. While there is a technical distinction in explosives research (e.g., detonation vs deflagration), that specialist nuance does not prevent basic comprehension as 'very explosive' across languages.
Etymology
High explosive: The name high explosive describes an explosive that makes a very fast, powerful blast. Here high means 'very fast' rather than 'high in the air', and explosive means something that explodes, so the name means 'a very fast and powerful explosion'.