1
as in bursting
to be copiously supplied
a recent college grad thrilled to be starting a new life in a city bristling with possibilities
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in storming
to express one's anger usually violently
the man bristled at the accusation, and threatened to file a lawsuit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in bristly
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristling
Verb
-
An intellectually dense film bursting with ideas, some of them contradictory, some troubling, all of them provocative.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
31 Dec. 2024 -
At one point Harry Maguire tried to inject urgency, bursting forward with the ball and urging Alejandro Garnacho and Diogo Dalot to run ahead.—
Laurie Whitwell,
The Athletic,
31 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
But that hypothesis, Harland wrote in a bristly 1964 Scientific American article, was not supported by any concrete evidence.—
Laura Poppick
July 22,
Literary Hub,
22 July 2025
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Step 3: Tidy the Harvest When the garlic is fully cured with papery skins and brittle, brown leaves, brush away any excess soil with your fingers and clip back the bristly roots.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Aug. 2024
Verb
-
Street performers and buzzing crowds returned to Bourbon Street on Thursday after police reopened it hours before the Sugar Bowl, which was delayed a day and was expected to draw 70,000 fans to the nearby Superdome.—
Christopher Cann,
USA TODAY,
4 Jan. 2025
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From patient inquiries to administrative notifications, your inbox is probably constantly buzzing.—
Ajay Prasad,
Forbes,
3 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Then the truck flipped over, sending the workers into the raging water.—
Travis Loller,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Dec. 2024
-
Here is the list of fighters that gained immortality as a result of this raging inferno.—
Interesting Engineering,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
This means that voters and Congress members alike are driven not so much by loyalty to their own party but instead a sort of seething hatred for the other political party.—
Charlie Hunt,
The Conversation,
13 June 2025
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Bateman's seething anger at having his card bested by that of his colleague Paul Allen (Jared Leto), despite the two cards looking almost identical, satirized the vacuous materialism of 1980s yuppie culture.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 June 2025
Verb
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These predictions highlight a year brimming with potential, as the industry continues to prove itself as an unstoppable force.—
Leeor Shimron,
Forbes,
23 Dec. 2024
-
The planet’s ancient ecosystem might have been brimming over with a richer assortment of plant life than scientists ever thought.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
One idea is that about a million years after the Big Bang, the universe cooled and underwent a phase transition, an event similar to how boiling water turns liquid into gas.—
Yasemin Saplakoglu,
Scientific American,
3 Mar. 2020
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If candy is still stuck on, pour more boiling water over whatever hasn’t come clean.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
3 Dec. 2019
Adjective
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When colleges support these efforts, faculty champions are able to build powerful partnerships around campus, while passionate students find creative and effective ways to connect with their peers.—
Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
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New hotels, restaurants, shops, and bars staffed by passionate locals and patronized by an in-the-know clientele have begun to push Nice back into the spotlight.—
Sloane Crosley,
Travel + Leisure,
15 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bristling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristling. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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