as in bristly
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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
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of bristling
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness.
—Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Buried in a six-game losing streak, Las Vegas head coach Pete Carroll has canned two coordinators — most notably offensive mind Chip Kelly, hired away from national champion Ohio State this offseason to operate a Raiders attack bristling with skill players.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025
The real success of King Sorrow, however, is its balancing of stunt and spectacle with the characters’ bristling imperfections.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
The path curls beneath bristling columns and then drops steeply over the side.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Bondi’s response was characteristically bristling and evasive; Whitehouse asked about the money seven times, to no avail.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
Spicomellus had a back that was probably bristling with sharper spines, along with far larger ones along its outer edges.
—ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
With the neighborhood already bristling with all kinds of MLRS, that will no doubt be the case.
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
That gives it a bristling relevance.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
More than any other European leader, Orbán has made a career out of bristling against the EU, despite not seeking to leave it.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness.
—Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Buried in a six-game losing streak, Las Vegas head coach Pete Carroll has canned two coordinators — most notably offensive mind Chip Kelly, hired away from national champion Ohio State this offseason to operate a Raiders attack bristling with skill players.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025
The real success of King Sorrow, however, is its balancing of stunt and spectacle with the characters’ bristling imperfections.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
The path curls beneath bristling columns and then drops steeply over the side.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Bondi’s response was characteristically bristling and evasive; Whitehouse asked about the money seven times, to no avail.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
Spicomellus had a back that was probably bristling with sharper spines, along with far larger ones along its outer edges.
—ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025
With the neighborhood already bristling with all kinds of MLRS, that will no doubt be the case.
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristling
Adjective
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During the summer ski jumping season when competitors slide down ceramic or porcelain tracks and land on bristly plastic mats, the team tried to adjust to the new ski suit dimensions.—
Brian Melley,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Their typically bristly fur is peppered with shades of brown and gray, with a white underbelly.—
Marina Watts,
PEOPLE,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
After flooding and damage from bursting pipes worsened over the past week and a half at the troubled Concierge Apartments in Rocky Hill, town officials officially condemned 200 apartments in the massive complex Thursday afternoon.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
7 Feb. 2026
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Adding White to a young crop bursting in talent thanks to the likes of Ball, Miller and Knueppel only bolsters the Hornets’ chances to end the playoff drought.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This is the second time in three seasons that Duke has been on the other end of a court storming gone wrong.—
Brendan Marks,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
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Officials reviewed the play and determined time was left, so fans had to be cleared for Duke to get one final play before storming the court again when the clock officially hit zero.—
Aaron Beard,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Sister Rochelle, played by April Grace with seething intensity, sets her straight.—
Lisa Rosen,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Bondi Beach, Sydney — For Australia’s tiny Jewish population, Bondi Beach was a refuge within a vast country that offered sanctuary to families fleeing a seething hate that killed six million of their kind within the lifetime of some of their oldest members.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The café is spacious and softly buzzing, with quiet conversations carrying over from distant tables.—
Pau Mosquera,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Tomato pie, buzzing with Pecorino and oregano, is also a must-order.—
Chris Morocco,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But all that is left now is the concrete slab that once served as the floor of his popular wedding venue, and the once-regal nearby 40-foot cypress trees are now bent over after raging floodwaters destroyed everything in their path.—
Abrielle Kate Maddison,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
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There’s a full-out PR battle raging as executives of all three court content creators, unions, Warner shareholders, politicians and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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More humane methods of killing lobsters pre-boiling include a sharp knife through the head, electrical stunning, or freezing.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
29 Dec. 2025
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Agrawal and her team studied ionic liquids — salts that are liquid at sub-boiling temperatures (below 212 degrees Fahrenheit, or 100 degrees Celsius) — as a potential hospitable environment for life.—
Stefanie Waldek,
Space.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The workshop was a leather Pouch, bulging with what a child can win.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The younger Pearl does not stalk the sideline drenched in sweat, veins bulging from his neck and spittle flying at every questionable call.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bristling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristling. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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