How to Use thermobaric in a Sentence

thermobaric

adjective
  • Which, of course, might be why the Ukrainians were able to hit the thermobaric launcher.
    — David Axe, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2023
  • These types of thermobaric weapons have been in development since the 1970s.
    — NBC News, 2 Mar. 2022
  • Putin reportedly used thermobaric weapons in attacks there to save Bashar Assad's regime.
    — Mick Mulroy, ABC News, 6 Mar. 2022
  • The Ukrainians might not be keen to lob a lot of thermobaric missiles at Russian positions when there could be civilians nearby.
    — David Axe, Forbes, 17 Apr. 2022
  • There has been no confirmation of the Ukrainian claim that Russia has used phosphorus or thermobaric weapons.
    — Mary Walsh, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2022
  • The 96-second video shows four attack runs in which the drone flies over Russian positions, dropping what are described as thermobaric bombs.
    — David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, 7 June 2023
  • The weapons, also known as thermobaric or vacuum bombs, explode in two stages, creating a blast wave that lasts longer than those of conventional explosives.
    — Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 12 May 2023
  • Volumetric weapons are also known as vacuum bombs, thermobaric weapons or fuel-air explosives.
    — Brad Lendon, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
  • The Russians have systems capable of launching thermobaric weapons in Ukraine, the official said.
    — Celina Tebor, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2022
  • Others were equipped with gas canisters, handcuffs and thermobaric grenades designed to instantly turn houses into infernos.
    — Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 12 Nov. 2023
  • In the Sumy Oblast, drones equipped with thermobaric warheads have been used to destroy Ukrainian trenches and defensive positions.
    — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
  • The United States and Russia have reportedly been in a race to perfect the thermobaric weapon, billed as a substitute to nuclear weapons.
    — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 16 Mar. 2022
  • The potential use of vacuum bombs is of particular concern because these thermobaric munitions are designed to cause immense destruction.
    — NBC News, 2 Mar. 2022
  • Javelin will cause Russian forces to plaster likely missile positions with high explosive, cluster munition, and thermobaric artillery fire prior to any tank attack.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 2 Jan. 2018
  • Originally designed to kill tanks, Hellfire now includes variants with blast fragmentation and thermobaric warheads.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 4 Aug. 2022
  • In Iraq, militants used powerful but crude explosive devices; two decades later, Armonda had to deal with the carnage wrought by cluster bombs and thermobaric explosions.
    — Martha Raddatz, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026
  • The same vessels were reportedly fitted with thermobaric Shmel rocket launchers capable of blasting entrenched positions along the shoreline.
    — David Kirichenko, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
  • Russia has been accused of using thermobaric vacuum bombs during its invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials.
    — Fox News, 1 Mar. 2022
  • In addition to the tanks, other materiel has flowed into the site, including howitzers, thermobaric multiple rocket launchers and long-range multiple rocket launchers, Janes said.
    — Washington Post, 8 Dec. 2021
  • In line with President Putin’s recent saber-rattling tendencies, the country picked September 11th to test a giant new thermobaric device.
    — David Hambling, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2007
  • Ukraine is accusing Russia of using thermobaric weapons—whose powerful blasts can unleash a devastating toll on people and buildings—in the latest battle for the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine.
    — WSJ, 28 May 2022
  • Although there have been numerous sightings of heavy Russian artillery pieces rolling into Ukraine—and reports that Moscow has already used thermobaric weapons against civilians—there have been no official confirmations yet.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 1 Mar. 2022
  • The basic 110-pound blast-fragmentation version has been joined by shaped charge, fragmentation-incendiary, thermobaric and even what looks like a napalm version spreading a self-igniting liquid which is impossible to put out.
    — David Hambling, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Russia also has been using TOS-1A systems firing thermobaric warheads, sometimes called vacuum bombs, which can kill soldiers even in trenches by unleashing multiple pressure blast waves.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 4 June 2022
  • Amnesty International said international humanitarian law prohibits the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons such as cluster munitions and thermobaric weapons.
    — Gabriela Miranda, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2022
  • Armed with thermobaric rockets, a full salvo can blanket roughly 40,000 square meters (430,556 square feet) in seconds, generating intense overpressure capable of destroying bunkers, fortified positions, lightly armored vehicles, and concentrations of personnel.
    — Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 19 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thermobaric.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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