引爆 (yǐn bào) — to detonate; to ignite (an explosive or a react… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

引爆 means to detonate or ignite — used literally for explosives (bombs, warehouses) and figuratively for sparking strong reactions (a heated debate, a room's atmosphere). More forceful and dramatic than the more neutral 点燃 ('to light, to ignite').

verb

to detonateto ignite (an explosive or a reaction)

Examples

引爆。
Jǐng chá yǐn bào le nà ge zhà dàn.
The police detonated that bomb.
引爆。
Yì diǎn huǒ xīng jiù néng yǐn bào zhěng gè cāng kù.
A single spark can detonate the entire warehouse.
引爆。
Tā de fā yán yǐn bào le quán chǎng de qì fen.
His speech ignited the atmosphere of the entire venue.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

引yǐntrigger/ignite

爆bàoexplode

引 carries the sense of triggering or igniting, and 爆 carries the sense of exploding.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

弓弓gōngbow
丿丿piěindicatory stroke

引 is made from 弓, a bow, and 丿, a short slant stroke added at the place where the string is pulled, marking the action of drawing or pulling.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

火暴爆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

暴

暴bào爆bào

Same sound today

爆 combines 火 (fire) with 暴, which supplies the sound and also originally meant violence.

Appears in

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