1
as in annoyed
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
these incessant phone calls are really starting to bug me
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bothered
to thrust oneself upon (another) without invitation
I hate to bug you, but could you help me move this table?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bugged
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
Feeling good Weathers has been bugged by several injuries over the last few years.
—Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 16 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
Carol Meeting Manousos Doesn’t Go As Planned The meeting between the two immediately sparks conflict, with Manousos unwilling to step into Carol’s home or use the translate feature on her phone, suspicious that everything has been bugged.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025
The characters muse about the extreme likelihood that their apartments have been bugged.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2025
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
Feeling good Weathers has been bugged by several injuries over the last few years.
—Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 16 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
Carol Meeting Manousos Doesn’t Go As Planned The meeting between the two immediately sparks conflict, with Manousos unwilling to step into Carol’s home or use the translate feature on her phone, suspicious that everything has been bugged.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025
The characters muse about the extreme likelihood that their apartments have been bugged.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugged
Verb
-
Teams routinely get annoyed with media that spends time on this sort of thing, but there is no better sales tactic than drama.—
Mac Engel
April 16,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 Apr. 2026
-
But now Lamar is doing press annoyed with me.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Only Lanie bothered to help me sort through what my mother had left behind, sort my days.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Collins believes, or at least implies, that the more radical tradition is the one that never bothered negotiating with those institutions at all—that the real fearlessness is in the work that was never asking for a seat at the table.—
Geoff Bennett,
The Atlantic,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Even minimal exposure to artificial lights irritated his burns, and recovery took months.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Many people have come out of the woodwork and jumped on the bandwagon, which irritated me.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Animal rights activists questioned whether the wolf could survive outside the zoo and also worried it might be killed during capture, something that happened to a puma that escaped from the same zoo in 2018.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
But, this year, Republicans in Washington have worried that Trump’s nationwide gains with Latinos in 2024 might be reversed, or at least diminished, by his crackdown on immigrants.—
Jesús Rodríguez,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Trump implemented a program offering migration and asylum to white Afrikaners who feel persecuted in South Africa.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
For years, deportations could be indefinitely delayed if an immigrant successfully argued that they’d be tortured or persecuted if they were returned home.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bugged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugged. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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