Implosion usually means a sudden collapseto fall down or cave in, often from loss of support inwardtoward the inside rather than the outside. It can also be used in linguisticsthe scientific study of language and how it works for the first closed phase of a stop sound.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-27. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Pronunciation
AI-generated pronunciation audio (OpenAI).
Accent: General American English
IPA: /ɪmˈploʊʒən/
Easy pronunciation: im-PLOH-zhun (approximate spelling).
Stress: Stress on the second syllable: PLOH.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-27. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Implosion Meaning
a collapse that happens inward, often very quickly
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a sudden inward collapse
Example: The old building collapsed in an implosion.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-27. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Other Meanings of Implosion
Meaning 2
the brief closed stage at the start of some stop sounds in speech
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the initial occluded phase of a stop consonant
Example: Linguists may describe this as the implosion of a consonant.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-27. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Implosion Synonyms
Similar Meaning
- collapse
- cave-in
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-27. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Common Mistakes
- People sometimes confuse implosion with explosion, but implosion means movement inward, not outward.
- In everyday English, implosion usually refers to a physical or figurative collapse, not the linguistic term.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-27. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does implosion mean?
Implosion means a sudden collapse inward. In a technical linguistics context, it can also refer to the closed phase of a stop consonant.
What are synonyms for implosion?
For the main sense, good synonyms include collapse and cave-in. The linguistic sense does not have common everyday synonyms.
Is implosion the same as explosion?
No. Explosion means something bursts outward, while implosion means something collapses inward.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-27. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
