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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Ex-plō'sion, n.

noun

(eks-plō'zhun), n. [Lat. explosio, Fr. & Sp. explosion, It. explosione. See EXPLODE.]

  1. The act of exploding, bursting with loud noise, or detonating; a sudden inflaming with force and a loud report; as, the explosion of gunpowder.
  2. (Steam-eng.) The shattering of a boiler by a sudden and immense pressure, in distinction from rupture.
  3. A violent manifestation of passionate feeling, attended by an outburst in language, &c. “A formidable explosion of high-church fanaticism.” Macaulay.