blast

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“
cried Mother Demdike, with a spiteful look By an instinct that never deceives," replied Alizon, as the blast was again heard This must be stopped," said the hag, waving her staff over the maiden, and transfixing her where she sat; after which she took up the lamp, and strode towards the window The few words that passed between her and Richard have been already recounted.

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Definitions (83)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (30)

  1. noun A very strong gust of wind or air.
  2. noun The effect of such a gust.
  3. noun A forcible stream of air, gas, or steam from an opening, especially one in a blast furnace to aid combustion.
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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • THE OCTOPUS THE impact of the blast was as though hands had smashed against their ears. —  055 - The Feathered Octopus
  • But it appeared the blast was the deadliest attack in Iraq since Dec. 11, when a suicide bomber killed 55 at a cafe in Kirkuk. —  Latest Headlines - ABC 7 News
  • But it appeared the blast was the deadliest attack in Iraq since Dec 11, when a suicide bomber killed 55 at a cafe in Kirkuk. —  Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
  • Bamber's character ended up dead in the '80s in what had been classified as a gas explosion, but the "Cold Case" squad learns the blast was actually the result of a bomb.
  • Few people believed that the blast was an accident but investigators were unable to prove conclusively that the dredge was sabotaged. —  markgribben.com
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This word has been looked up 175 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Suggestions Wordniks Suggest

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

explosion ·  roar ·  burst ·  storm ·  wave ·  blow ·  thunder ·  rush ·  bolt ·  flood ·  shock ·  gust

Used in the same contextWord Family

blast:   blasts ·  blasted ·  blasting
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (5)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old English blǣst; see bhlē- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. Invented by Van Helmont (1577-1644). Cf. gas.
  2. from Middle English blast, blest, from Anglo-Saxon blǣst (=Old High German blāst, Middle High German G. blast = Icelandic blāstr = Swedish blåst = Danish blæst), a gust of wind, a blowing, from blǣsan, (= Dutch blazen = Middle Low German blasen = Old High German blāsan, Middle High German blāsen, German blasen = Icelandic blāsa = Swedish blåsa = Danish blæse = Gothic (Moesogothic) blēsan (in comp.), blow, breathe, later English blaze, q. v.), akin to blāwan, blow: see blow, v. Perhaps ult. connected with Anglo-Saxon blæst, a flame, blæse, a flame, later English blaze, q. v.
  3. from Middle English blasten, blow, breathe hard; transitive, blow, as a trumpet; from blast, a blowing: see blast, n.
  4. Greek βλαστός, a sprout, shoot, germ, < βλαστάνειν, sprout, bud, grow.
 

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