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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bristled
The former president has bristled at the suggestion that his administration abused the autopen, defending himself in a July 13 New York Times interview.
—
Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
Former coach Michael Malone bristled over losing Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 17 Oct. 2025
However, when he was asked about free agency, Realmuto bristled at the notion of discussing his future amid the pain of the present.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which recounted Swift’s breakups with rocker beau Matty Healy and actor/co-writer Joe Alwyn, bristled at expectations and disappeared into fantasy.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Speaking of superstars not going anywhere… Since the beginning of NBA times, teams that employ elite players have bristled when reporters share the unwelcome reality that rival teams are trying to find ways to steal their franchise centerpiece.
—Sam Amick, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
DiMaggio is said to have bristled at his wife’s heavy makeup, particularly at the premiere of The Seven Year Itch.
—Mark Gray, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
Politely, Berners-Lee bristled.
—Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
The sleek dusk bristled with it, like the fur of a cat.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
Former coach Michael Malone bristled over losing Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 17 Oct. 2025
However, when he was asked about free agency, Realmuto bristled at the notion of discussing his future amid the pain of the present.
—Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which recounted Swift’s breakups with rocker beau Matty Healy and actor/co-writer Joe Alwyn, bristled at expectations and disappeared into fantasy.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Speaking of superstars not going anywhere… Since the beginning of NBA times, teams that employ elite players have bristled when reporters share the unwelcome reality that rival teams are trying to find ways to steal their franchise centerpiece.
—Sam Amick, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
DiMaggio is said to have bristled at his wife’s heavy makeup, particularly at the premiere of The Seven Year Itch.
—Mark Gray, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
Politely, Berners-Lee bristled.
—Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
The sleek dusk bristled with it, like the fur of a cat.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristled
Verb
-
The air buzzed with laughter, connection, and anticipation.—
Essence,
Essence,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Each week, social media has buzzed with his latest one-handed reception or shape-shifting juke.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Both personalities were on full display on Tuesday, when the B’s stormed back from 2-0 deficit with five unanswered goals to beat the New York Islanders, 5-2, at the Garden.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
-
In 1992, 111 were killed when Sao Paulo police stormed the Carandiru Penitentiary to put down a prison rebellion.—
Janaina Quinet,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Messi picked up the ball from his compatriot Rodrigo De Paul in midfield and burst toward the backpedaling Nashville back line before slipping the ball outside to Luis Suárez.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The areas facing the sun heat up fastest, and if there is a weaker area on the surface of the comet, sublimated gases under the surface can burst through — causing these sun-facing jets.—
Elizabeth Howell,
Space.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The eugenics movement raged in America and abroad, and bodies deemed as ‘freaks’ could be subject to investigation, sterilization, or institutionalization.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Bloody battles raged throughout the fall of 1863 along the banks of the Tennessee River, in pastoral valleys, and on the flanks of Lookout Mountain, a long, craggy ridge overlooking the city.—
Graham Averill,
Outside,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Offense has largely hummed when Bo Nix is decisive.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Lost in our mind frequency, which hummed loud now like a drone.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But on Tuesday, when FIFA Collect administrators revealed that only Category 1 and 2 tickets — the most expensive tickets, and therefore the least coveted in FIFA’s first sales phase — would be available to the vast majority of RTB holders, some of the holders fumed.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Trump has fumed at the Federal Reserve for holding interest rates steady, while blaming a weakening labor market on bad numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
So far, the year has brimmed with new milestones.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Wind chimes rang out in the back yard, which brimmed with pointy succulents, low-lying shrubs, and a few small trees.—
Ingfei Chen,
New Yorker,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bristled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristled. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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