starburst

noun

1. A violent explosion, or the pattern (likened to the shape of a star) supposed to be made by such an explosion.

   “[…] his arm striking brick and the bottle shattering in a starburst of black […]”

   “A starburst of red exploded on his chest and he flew backward a good six or seven feet.”

   “[…] and another that creates a cicatrix starburst from her right eye to her temple. This scar is the result of an accident when she was ten years old, […]”

2. A symbol similar to an asterisk, but with additional rays: ✺.
3. A region of space with an unusually high rate of star formation.
4. A period in time during which a region of space experiences an unusually high rate of star formation.

   “The Milky Way will see a starburst in approximately 200,000,000 years.”

verb

1. To experience an unusually high rate of star formation.
2. To explode; to burst out violently via, or in such a manner as to cause, an explosion.
3. To make a starburst pattern.

   “The faint light from the sky starbursted on a tear. Suddenly there was something appallingly human about her.”