bristled

verb

past tense of bristle
1
as in buzzed
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 stormed
to express one's anger usually violently the man bristled at the accusation, and threatened to file a lawsuit

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bristled Multiple sources tell Rambling there were creative differences between Ellis and HBO — hardly a shock given that the author has bristled at adaptations of his work for 25 years, since American Psycho. — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026 At a busy early voting site on Madison's north side, even some of Hong's supporters bristled at some of her controversial positions. — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026 When some senators pressed him on the memos’ content, Roberts bristled. — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 If your shutters have slats, carefully wipe between each slat, using a toothbrush or soft-bristled brush to get into corners. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 4 Aug. 2026 Skubal bristled at the idea that fans would be upset that the Dodgers, reigning back-to-back World Series champions, could land the best (and their only) target during this deadline period. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Over the course of his 45-minute press conference Thursday, many viewers (including CNN reporters and editors) bristled at Warsh’s penchant for catchy turns of phrase that don’t quite … make sense. — Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 29 July 2026 Herbst bristled at the idea that the existing buildings truly needed that many renovations to safely function as a city hall. — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026 China understands this reality as well as anyone and, like many countries, has bristled at this enormous concentration of power for decades. — Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 28 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristled
  1. buzzed
  2. stormed
  3. burst
  4. raged
  5. hummed
  6. fumed
  7. bulged
  8. brimmed
Verb
  • In the now-notorious moment, Rock, 61, made a joke directed at Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s buzzed haircut.
    — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026
  • That same day, 260 miles west, the mayor of another Saskatchewan town was sitting on the end of a fishing dock when his phone buzzed with a text message.
    — Zander Sherman, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of buzzed
Verb
  • Residents of a Newark, New Jersey, apartment complex got a startling wakeup call Sunday morning when police in tactical gear, responding to reports of multiple people shot, stormed their building.
    — Andrew Ramos, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But the suspect’s sister, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the victim became enraged after noticing a scratch on his motorcycle and stormed up to her brother, blaming him for the damage.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of stormed
Verb
  • Authorities rescued residents from high water in several areas in Indiana, including Delaware, Madison, Wayne and Henry counties as rivers burst their banks.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Lavandeira also defended her brother, who in the early aughts burst onto the internet’s celebrity culture and gossip scene with shocking headlines and often lewd doodles over celeb images.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of burst
Verb
  • In Croatia, 14 people were hospitalized, of whom seven remained in life-threatening condition early Friday from a fire that raged overnight by the coastal town of Omis and forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate their homes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • These conflagrations follow the historic fires that raged in France and Spain last month, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents.
    — Bloomberg, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of raged
Verb
  • As the tattoo machine hummed across her leg, Savanna Georges watched another chapter of her faith take shape in ink.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The town's only hospital hummed with ambulances, burial teams and a steady stream of patients.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 21 July 2026
Definition of hummed
Verb
  • Cliff Johnsen, business agent for the Steamfitters Local 638 union, fumed.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 9 July 2026
  • Both the defendants and courts fumed at this because, while attorney-client privilege survives death, this death killed the power of Boca Raton’s Lee Sarkin and Ocean Ridge’s Drew Levitt to act on their client’s behalf.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 8 July 2026
Definition of fumed
Verb
  • My husband Grant Wahl's bulged and burst, at an age when this disease usually means something inherited.
    — Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • That ball found the head of Jude Bellingham, whose diving header bulged the net and opened the scoring.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Definition of bulged
Verb
  • Sitting with her children in a carriage during the parade and later appearing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, the princess wore nodded to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana's 1987 Easter outfit in a pale blue ensemble and wide-brimmed hat by Catherine Walker.
    — Meg Walters, InStyle, 15 June 2026
  • Conversations between the two often brimmed with lessons on life, which Honda carries close to heart.
    — Julius Miller Follow, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Definition of brimmed

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Cite this Entry

“Bristled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristled. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of bristled for Spanish Speakers

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