antipersonnel bomb
- noun
- /ˌæntiˈpɜrsənl bɑm/
- NSFW
:
bomba antipersonal
- The antipersonnel bomb exploded.
Examples
-
International treaties have sought to restrict the use of the antipersonnel bomb because of its effects on civilians.
-
Fragments from the antipersonnel bomb spread over a wide area, causing extensive injuries.
-
The military deployed an antipersonnel bomb to target enemy troops in the open field.
-
What is an antipersonnel bomb?
-
The military discovered an antipersonnel bomb in the abandoned building, which was designed to target enemy soldiers.
-
After the explosion, the area was scattered with shrapnel from the antipersonnel bomb, endangering anyone nearby.
-
The report detailed the dangers of deploying an antipersonnel bomb, emphasizing its potential to inflict harm on civilians.
Synonyms
170
4.4
A small bomb you throw to explode and damage an area
1
7.0
A bomb that sends out many small metal pieces to injure or kill people
1
9.8
A bomb that breaks into many small fast metal pieces to hit soldiers and vehicles
1
8.1
A weapon made to injure or kill people rather than damage machines
A weapon that explodes and sends metal pieces at high speed to hurt people and damage things nearby
How Lethal
- Archaic
1
8.1
- Specialized
5
9.9
- Specialized
17
4.2
- NSFW
24
5.0
31
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'antipersonnel' (intended to harm people) modifies 'bomb' (an explosive device), so the phrase denotes a bomb designed to injure or kill people. This adjective+noun compounding is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Antipersonnel bomb comes from anti ('against') and personnel ('people'), so it literally means a bomb made to attack people. It is built to break into many small pieces that fly out and hurt or kill people, which is why the name means 'to injure or kill people'.