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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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

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
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 The irony, though — of companies building AI agents that can autonomously access users’ most sensitive data across multiple platforms while bristling at government scrutiny of the same technology — is difficult to miss. — Anisha Sircar, Forbes.com, 10 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 The result is an album that retains the bristling energy of the band’s debut but yet feels refreshingly loose. — Jason P. Woodbury, Pitchfork, 22 June 2026 Young Washington, a new biopic, gives us pre-Revolutionary George, early-20s George, pale, petulant, virginal, ramrod-straight, and bristling with awkwardness and ambition. — James Parker, The Atlantic, 16 June 2026 Hollis buries herself in work in an attempt to escape her complicated grief, while aspiring filmmaker Caroline copes by making snarky remarks and bristling at her mom's efforts to connect. — Clarissa Cruz, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026 In the New Mexico desert, a pair of stations bristling with antennas captured radio waves coming out of a dozen separate lightning strikes. — Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed the sentiment after bristling at a question from a CNN journalist during a Pentagon briefing last month on the Iran war. — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristling
  1. bristly
  2. bursting
  3. storming
  4. seething
  5. buzzing
  6. raging
  7. boiling
  8. bulging
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of bristly
Verb
  • Rook’s Rest or Rhaenys on Meleys, bursting through the Dragonpit and killing scores of smallfolk.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Security camera footage shared by Something Fishy Pets on Facebook shows the massive tank suddenly bursting and flooding a large part of the facility as a worker runs to help.
    — Hannah Hudnall, USA Today, 30 July 2026
Definition of bursting
Verb
  • Fatal influence cut off their offense, but Brie came storming back with a big right hand.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Moroccan forces beat back crowds with batons and tear gas at the gates to Ceuta, trying to prevent more from storming across into the tiny Spanish territory that juts on a spit of sandy land into the Mediterranean from Morocco.
    — Michael Francis Gore, USA Today, 31 July 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
  • On a recent Friday evening, a photo shoot was underway in the marble staircase and the restaurant was buzzing softly with locals who’d come to try the creative tasting menus.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026
  • But each of its eight-and-a-half minutes introduces a subtle mutation, rotating buzzing electronics and quivering guitars into the spotlight.
    — Arman Khan, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of buzzing
Verb
  • The three women at the center of the narrative are raging in very different ways, but they’re all becoming slowly consumed by their rage.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The Ebola outbreak raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now the largest in the nation’s history, according to the World Health Organization.
    — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 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
  • Okegbe recommends immediately discarding any can that’s bulging, leaking, heavily rusted, or dented.
    — Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 26 July 2026
  • An aneurysm is a weakened or bulging artery wall, and coiling is a procedure used to block blood flow to the aneurysm, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 23 July 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 10 Aug. 2026.

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