fulminate Hear it!

fulminate Definition

ful·mi·nate (ful′mə nāt′, fo̵ol′-)

intransitive verb -·nat′ed, -·nat′·ing

  1. Archaic to thunder and lighten
  2. to explode with sudden violence; detonate
  3. to shout forth denunciations, decrees, etc.

Etymology: ME fulminaten < L fulminatus, pp. of fulminare, to flash or strike with lightning < fulmen, lightning, thunderbolt, akin to fulgere: see fulgent

transitive verb

  1. to cause to explode
  2. to shout forth (denunciations, decrees, etc.)

noun

an explosive salt of fulminic acid, containing the monovalent negative radical CNO and used in detonators and percussion caps

fulminate Related Forms

ful′·mi·na′·tion noun ful′·mi·na′·tor noun

fulminate Synonyms

fulminate

v.

  1. To explode

    blow up, discharge, detonate; see explode 1.

  2. To intimidate

    menace, bluster, upbraid; see threaten 1.

  3. To denounce

    swear at, condemn, rail; see censure, curse 1, 2, denounce.

fulminate Usage Examples

Preposition: of

mercury: Primary H.E. that exploded upon impact and secondary H.E. that required a detonator; usually fulminate of mercury.

Object

  • gold: The decomposition of the fulminating gold releases gold vapor, which plates the steel needles in a highly spectacular manner.
  • silver: Fulminating Silver, to make an artificial spider, containing.
  • sepsis: CIGB-2001 was shown to reduce mortality by four-fold in a murine model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa induced fulminating sepsis.
  • compound: Half an ounce of any fulminating compound is a huge quantity.

Converse of object

  • contain: Only milligrams of silver fulminate is used in ' Snaps ' , small twists of paper containing fulminate coated sand.
  • produce: Advances in chemistry at the turn of the century had produced fulminates of silver and mercury: explosives which detonated when struck.

Modifying Another Word

about: Earlier this week I saw Oliver Letwin on Newsnight fulminating about how saving the environment was a much bigger issue than immigration.

Noun used with modifier

mercury: The mercury was deposited in the canal between 1876 and 1968 by a former canalside factory that produced detonators using mercury fulminate.