explosive

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adj. Relating to or having the nature of an explosion.
2. adj. Tending to explode.
3. n. A substance, especially a prepared chemical, that explodes or causes explosion.
4. n. Linguistics A plosive.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Pertaining to or of the nature of explosion; tending or liable to explode, or to cause explosion: as, the explosive force of gunpowder; explosive mixture; explosive paroxysms of nerve-force.
2. In philology, involving in utterance the breach of a complete closure of the organs; not continuous; mute; forming a complete vocal stop: as, an explosive consonant. See II., 2.
3. n. Any substance by whose decomposition or combustion gas is generated with such rapidity that it can be used for blasting or in firearms. Of these substances gunpowder, often called simply powder, is by far the best-known, and has been in use for a long time. Guncotton, nitroglycerin, and various preparations containing nitroglycerin, known as potentite, forcite, etc., are some of the explosives more recently introduced. The principal explosive agents used for military purposes are guncotton, dynamite, the various gunpowders, nitroglycerin, and the fulminates. See these words.
4. n. In philology, a non-continuous or mute consonant, as k, t, p. Also explodent.
5. n. The principal classes of explosive substances are: gunpowder
6. n. nitroglycerin and its compounds, the most important being dynamite
7. n. gun-cotton and similar nitro-substitution compounds
8. n. picric acid and the picrates
9. n. fulminates.
10. n. Sprengel safety-mixtures
11. n. nitrate mixtures other than gunpowder, and chlorate mixtures. There are many varieties of each class.

Wiktionary

1. n. Explosive substance.
2. adj. With the capability to, or likely to, explode.
3. adj. Having the character of an explosion.
4. adj. slang Easily driven to anger, usually with reference to a person.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Driving or bursting out with violence and noise; causing explosion.
2. n. An explosive agent; a compound or mixture susceptible of a rapid chemical reaction, as gunpowder, TNT, dynamite, or nitro-glycerine.
3. n. A sound produced by an explosive impulse of the breath; (Phonetics) one of consonants p, b, t, d, k, g, which are sounded with a sort of explosive power of voice. [See Guide to Pronunciation, √ 155-7, 184.]

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. liable to lead to sudden change or violence
2. adj. sudden and loud
3. n. a chemical substance that undergoes a rapid chemical change (with the production of gas) on being heated or struck
4. adj. serving to explode or characterized by explosion or sudden outburst