BLOW UP

Cause to burst with a violent release of energy

Example: "We exploded the nuclear bomb"

• detonate  9
• explode  17
• set off

• change integrity

• fulminate  14
• dynamite  14

Make large

Example: "Blow up an image"

• enlarge  8
• magnify  16

• reduce  9

Get very angry and fly into a rage

Example: "The professor combusted when the student didn't know the answer to a very elementary question"

• blow a fuse
• blow one's stack
• combust  13
• flip one's lid
• flip one's wig
• fly off the handle
• go ballistic
• have a fit
• have kittens
• hit the ceiling
• hit the roof
• lose one's temper
• throw a fit

Add details to

• aggrandise  13
• aggrandize  22
• dramatise  12
• dramatize  21
• embellish  16
• embroider  14
• lard  5
• pad  6

• amplify  17
• exaggerate  19
• hyperbolise  21
• hyperbolize  30
• magnify  16
• overdraw  15
• overstate  12

• glorify  14

Burst and release energy as through a violent chemical or physical reaction

Example: "The bomb detonated at noon"

• detonate  9
• explode  17

Exaggerate or make bigger

Example: "The charges were inflated"

• amplify  17
• expand  16
• inflate  10

• increase  10

• puff up

Fill with gas or air

Example: "Inflate a balloon"

• inflate  10

• expand  16

• reflate  10
• billow  11
• heave  11
• surge  6

To swell or cause to enlarge

Example: "Her faced puffed up from the drugs"

• puff  12
• puff out
• puff up