Different Types of Explosives To learn about the different areas of explosives and the separate explosives related to each group. Explosive adj. 1. of, involving, or characterized by an explosion or explosions. 2. capable of exploding or tending to explode. 3. potentially violent or hazardous; dangerous: an explosive situation. 4. Phonetics. another word for plosive. 5. a substance that decomposes rapidly under certain conditions with the production of gases, which expand by the heat of the reaction. The energy released is used in firearms, blasting, and rocket propulsion. The context of explosive that I am dealing with in my investigation is the fifth context