bug-eyed

adjective

ˈbəg-ˌīd 

: having the eyes bulging (as with fright)

Examples of bug-eyed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1990, Cole meets Jeffrey Goines, a fellow mental institution patient played with bug-eyed slipperiness by Brad Pitt, whose performance nabbed him his first Oscar nod. — Sara Netzley, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026

Olivia Miles, the rookie point guard for the Minnesota Lynx, wears a pair of bug-eyed sports goggles, black and bulbous, sometimes held in place by a thick strap that runs through her luxuriant Afro. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026

One attendee was decked out in a T-shirt featuring a bug-eyed alien playing electric guitar, but for everyone else in the room, business attire was the order of the day. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Aug. 2026

To date, Zoox’s bug-eyed, boxy robotaxi has driven over 3 million miles on public roads. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bug-eyed

• actinide
• aldehyde
• alkoxide
• alongside
• amplified
• arsenide
• beautified
• biocide
• bisulphide
• butoxide
• calcified
• ceramide

Kids Definition

bug-eyed

adjective

-ˌīd

: having the eyes bulging (as in astonishment)