implosion
implosion Lexical Profile
implosion Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An instance of something collapsing violently inward, often due to external pressure exceeding internal pressure.
"Engineers used a controlled implosion to safely demolish the aging stadium in seconds."
A sudden, catastrophic failure or breakdown of an organization, system, or economy from within.
"Poor management and mounting debt led to the sudden implosion of the tech startup."
In phonetics, the articulatory process of drawing air inward into the mouth and pharynx when producing an implosive consonant.
"The linguist recorded the speaker to analyze the glottal closure and implosion of thevoiced stops."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'implosion' (a violent collapse inward caused by external pressure) with 'explosion' (a violent burst outward caused by internal pressure).
• Rhymes for implosion
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 19th century on the pattern of 'explosion', replacing the prefix 'ex-' (outward) with 'im-' (inward), from the Latin verb 'plodere' meaning 'to clap or strike'.