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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 Bueno bristled at the notion that city residents' confidence in the 911 system could be shaken by the call. — David Clarey, jsonline.com, 26 Aug. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristled
  1. buzzed
  2. stormed
  3. burst
  4. raged
  5. hummed
  6. fumed
  7. bulged
  8. brimmed
Verb
  • With a nod from the person at the desk, we were buzzed out and strolled straight onto the tarmac to mount up.
    — Andrew P. Collins, The Drive, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The two 98-seat Embraer-190 regional jets from South African airline Airlink buzzed Cape Town’s DHL stadium on Saturday just before the match between the country’s Springboks and New Zealand’s All Blacks teams.
    — Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of buzzed
Verb
  • The confrontation began Friday after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a mosque, and gunmen stormed the facility, killing 21 people and wounding 103 others.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Thousands of revelers — the women dressed in Bavarian dirndls, the men in lederhosen — stormed the beer tents on Munich's Theresienwiese fairground in the morning to get a good spot on the benches.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of stormed
Verb
  • The original Defender burst onto the scene in 1983 (though it wouldn’t be called the Defender until 1990), as a modern update to the original Land Rover Series that had debuted in the 1940s.
    — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Pioneers who created the tech weigh in OpenAI burst onto the mainstream in 2022 following the launch of its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, and it's ballooned into one of the most valuable private companies in the world.
    — Ashley Capoot,David Faber,Kate Rooney, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of burst
Verb
  • While some members of Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties have advocated for bills to check the progress of AI, Trump on Monday raged against growing calls for AI regulation.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Wildfires have raged, and tens of thousands of excess deaths, attributed to the succession of heatwaves, have been recorded across Europe.
    — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of raged
Verb
  • The bleachers were packed, and for the first time all day the air hummed with genuine enthusiasm.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of hummed
Verb
  • Mizzou fans fumed about beating KU but playing in the lesser bowl.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Cliff Johnsen, business agent for the Steamfitters Local 638 union, fumed.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 9 July 2026
Definition of fumed
Verb
  • By later in the day, the second lake had bulged — sparking fears of another lethal torrent.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of bulged
Verb
  • Carcasses lay strewn along the shoreline as the beach brimmed with weekend activity.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But You Caint Use My Phone, which brimmed with affirmative heaters that wonderfully interrogated screen-staring.
    — Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of brimmed

Browse Nearby Words

bristle
bristled
bristles
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Cite this Entry

“Bristled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristled. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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