bristling 1 of 2

adjective

as in bristly

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bristling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bristle
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

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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

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 bristling
Adjective
That gives it a bristling relevance. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025 Mason gives him a somewhat civilized welcome but has too much bristling nervous energy to be trusted. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
National political headwinds are a factor in South Carolina, of course, but so is a long history of bristling against having political insiders choose their leaders for them. — New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026 Indonesia also may be bristling under foreign criticism of the country. — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026 Speed At All Costs The cars of the early 1990s were extraordinary machines, bristling with active suspension and aerodynamic wizardry. — Jessica Vitiritti, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026 The Interstate 215 corridor is the arterial mainline of California affordable housing, bristling with so many expanding housing developments that demand is outpacing what’s available in the traditional insurance market. — Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026 But there are divided opinions, with some tech leaders bristling at the idea that their companies could not ensure safety on their own. — ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026 Central Market, released in 2009, proved that his idiosyncratic melodic sensibility could translate to a more symphonic setting, with the Wordless Music Orchestra giving his giddy, loop-heavy compositions a bustling, bristling density. — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026 El-Sayed and his allies are bristling at that tactic, since Obama has remained neutral in the Senate primary. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 15 July 2026 Conservative Justices, bristling at insinuations of bias or partisanship, like to point to the significant share of cases that are decided unanimously. — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristling
  1. bristly
  2. bursting
  3. storming
  4. seething
  5. buzzing
  6. raging
  7. boiling
  8. bulging
Adjective
  • In deep money trouble with local mob boss Abu Rabih (Haytham Chamass), Hamza is all bristly nerves, always a hair’s breadth from falling apart, and, for the other characters and the audience alike, perhaps the riskiest element of the scheme.
    — Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
  • There are similarities between the two cities — hard-working people who can be bristly, but also kind and genuine.
    — James Pearce, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of bristly
Verb
  • When a bank of televisions showed horses bursting through the starting gate, feet stomped on the club’s carpet.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • And every few months, a bursting FedEx envelope from Baltimore would appear at my desk at PRH containing Professor Dixon’s typewritten chunks of new and unpublished writing.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of bursting
Verb
  • It's been a rough season for the Terrapins, who recently underwent a coaching change, and that's certainly not going to have kids storming the gates at SECU Stadium.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Allen, of Torrance, California, is accused of storming the WHCA dinner while armed with guns and knives and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to stop the April 25, 2026, attack at the Washington Hilton hotel.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of storming
Adjective
  • All were toothy, seething numbers, and all were terrifically fun.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 2 Aug. 2026
  • But after 90-plus minutes against Cape Verde on Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium, the smiles turned to seething expressions and consternation.
    — Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald, 22 June 2026
Definition of seething
Verb
  • La Parguera’s main square is buzzing with souvenir shops, street vendors, and local bars that stay lively well into the night.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026
  • No wonder there are almost always flies buzzing around the depression, not to mention crunchy beetles and spiders that come to hunt the other invertebrates.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of buzzing
Verb
  • Yet in springtime, traditionally the season for breeding, the war was raging.
    — Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Also intertwined are ancient myths of warring city-states, the raw, moody poetry of John Keats, and the modern battle between a faithless husband and his wife, the poem’s raging speaker.
    — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of raging
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of boiling
Verb
  • Earlier in the week, the team said the 23-year-old NFL player had been dealing with a bulging disc in his back.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The fear of effeminization has never felt so acute, which presumably is why Matt Damon’s Odysseus needed bulging muscles, to ensure his sensitivity was mitigated by pecs of steel.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of bulging

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Cite this Entry

“Bristling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristling. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

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