bugged

past tense of bug
1
2

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 bugged The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, a law-enforcement agency known as NABU, had bugged Mindich’s apartment in Kyiv, and detectives picked up his conversations about Fire Point. Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026 The group alleged that as well as hacking their phones, journalists from the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday tapped landlines and bugged houses and cars. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 7 July 2026 When Riley returned to the table, La La told me that his high profile in the city sometimes bugged her, because fans were always interrupting them, even sitting down at their table. Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 17 May 2026 Upon arriving at big-league camp this spring, Rojas said the different grip initially bugged him. Dan Hayes, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026 Three people told the Washington Examiner that Scott had become paranoid that Lewandowski was spying on him through his work phone and had bugged his office. Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2026 Underwood went on The Bachelor as a straight man, made a connection with Randolph, broke up with her, bugged her car, and then was hit with a restraining order. Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026 Instead, Ladinig says Pierre Haobsh bugged Henry Han's computer with a spyware app called a keylogger. Natalie Morales, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026 The comings and goings of the many planes at the little field bugged the Marine Corps brass and rattled the hens at the chicken ranch that was once right about where Cold War-era bowlers would one day rattle the pins at Frontier Lanes. Eric Duvall, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugged
Verb
  • During his last visit to Tehran in 2012, Aryan Diba enjoyed the sweeping hospitality of the city, but was annoyed when he and a group of friends were disrupted by local authorities while talking to a group of women at a local fast food joint.
    Colin Wrenn, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The Australian miner with closest ties to China, Forrest was annoyed by CMRG’s attack, calling on the commodity buying cartel to ‘negotiate fairly’.
    Tim Treadgold, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The effect that Republicans’ Wuhan investigations and right-leaning media had on Fauci’s public image continuously bothered him, according to the writings.
    Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 31 July 2026
  • Johnson took the job partly out of patriotism; he was bothered that so few people knew the smartphone was a Canadian invention.
    Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026
Verb
  • But the idea has irritated California’s billionaire class, and some have left the state in protest or threatened to do so.
    Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 29 June 2026
  • Hasslers, the researchers found, tended to be people who irritated the study respondents but whom the respondents could not escape.
    Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026
Verb
  • When Gunther von Hagens’s exhibition came to town, security guards worried less about theft than nausea.
    Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2026
  • However, Keller residents who posted on social media worried about the proximity of the data center to their homes.
    Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Although the two programs similarly target humanitarian concerns, being a TPS holder does not guarantee asylum, which requires that applicants prove they’ve been persecuted on specific grounds.
    Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Aug. 2026
  • In The Bacchae, Dionysus becomes violent only because his existence has been denied and his followers persecuted, and his maenads similarly become destructive only when pursued.
    Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 31 July 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bugged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugged. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on bugged

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster