Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Detonate \Det"o*nate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Detonated}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Detonating}.] [L. detonare, v. i., to thunder down;
   de + tonare to thunder; akin to E. thunder. See {Thunder},
   and cf. {Detonize}.]
   To explode with a sudden report; as, niter detonates with
   sulphur.