fulminate

[ fuhl-muh-neyt ]
See synonyms for: fulminatefulminating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),ful·mi·nat·ed, ful·mi·nat·ing.
  1. to explode with a loud noise; detonate.

  2. to issue denunciations or the like (usually followed by against): The minister fulminated against legalized vice.

verb (used with object),ful·mi·nat·ed, ful·mi·nat·ing.
  1. to cause to explode.

  2. to issue or pronounce with vehement denunciation, condemnation, or the like.

noun
  1. one of a group of unstable, explosive compounds derived from fulminic acid, especially the mercury salt of fulminic acid, which is a powerful detonating agent.

Origin of fulminate

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English fulminaten <Latin fulminātus, past participle of fulmināre “to hurl thunderbolts, thunder,” equivalent to fulmin-, stem of fulmen “thunderbolt, lightning” + -ātus -ate1

Other words from fulminate

  • ful·mi·na·tor, noun
  • ful·mi·na·to·ry [fuhl-muh-nuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], /ˈfʌl mə nəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective
  • non·ful·mi·nat·ing, adjective
  • un·ful·mi·nat·ed, adjective
  • un·ful·mi·nat·ing, adjective

Words Nearby fulminate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fulminate in a sentence

  • The gun nuts—and obviously, not all gun owners are nuts, not even a majority—fulminate endlessly about their rights.

    A Shameful Day in the Senate | Michael Tomasky | April 18, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • With Osama bin Laden inconveniently dead, the party out of power needs someone to fulminate against.

  • This flare was communicated to the percussion cap, or fulminate of mercury, at the base of the cartridge.

    Whispering Wires | Henry Leverage
  • Mercury fulminate is more often employed in the detonator, and is prepared from mercury, alcohol, and nitric acid.

  • The most tremendous explosives refuse to explode unless some detonator like fulminate of mercury is set off first.

    The Cup of Fury | Rupert Hughes

British Dictionary definitions for fulminate

fulminate

/ (ˈfʌlmɪˌneɪt, ˈfʊl-) /


verb
  1. (intr often foll by against) to make criticisms or denunciations; rail

  2. to explode with noise and violence

  1. (intr) archaic to thunder and lighten

noun
  1. any salt or ester of fulminic acid, esp the mercury salt, which is used as a detonator

Origin of fulminate

1
C15: from Medieval Latin fulmināre; see fulminant

Derived forms of fulminate

  • fulmination, noun
  • fulminator, noun
  • fulminatory, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012