BUGGING OUT Synonyms: 109 Similar and Opposite Words

bugging out

verb

present participle of bug out

as in retreating

to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the ground soldiers bugged out just before the start of the aerial bombing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in departing

to leave a place often for another the strange visitor bugged out without so much as saying a word

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 bugging out There’s a wonderful small moment midway through the season where Reilly’s lightly bugging out in his dingy apartment, shaking out his limbs at sharp, insectile angles to get comfortable. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 May 2026 Her baby's father answered the door with his eyes bugging out, and Frierson barged in to find two other guys, needles, spoons and powder on the table. — Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugging out

Verb

But Jewish security is not achieved by retreating from the rest of New York.

— Mark Treyger, New York Daily News, 8 Sep. 2026
The Himalayas are warming rapidly, glaciers are retreating and rainfall and snowfall patterns are shifting.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of retreating

Verb

Going analyzed its 2026 flight deal data to find the US airports that have offered the most affordable departing flights so far in 2026.

— Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026
Trains rumble behind the main stadiums, Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong, while planes approaching and departing from La Guardia Airport bring their stomach-churning roars.

— Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of departing

Verb

Survivors find shelter in Kathmandu Some flood survivors are fleeing the devastation to seek shelter in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

— Shristi Kafle, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
In past months, he has been charged with second-degree kidnapping, fleeing elude police, firearm charges and assault charges.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of fleeing

Verb

Slow Horses producer See-Saw Films has hired Fifth Season‘s Ben Irving, with Helen Gregory exiting after five years.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2026
Security camera footage shows Clarke and the driver get out of the car and walk into the store, exiting minutes later, Detective Kelly Gomez wrote in the report.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of exiting

Verb

Peden has their own professional flying grooms that travel with the horses for championships and Olympic flights, while there are also vets and stable grooms, such as Vard on board.

— Danielle Rossingh, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Roundabout 100, most of them leased, flying more than double that number in flights each day to destinations across the globe.

— Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of flying

Verb

But at this point, many SEC administrators would rather find out by getting a win or by losing and then moving forward with that knowledge.

— Seth Emerson, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
The storm, now moving west-northwest at just 5 mph, is forecast to turn northward to north-northeastward with an increase in forward speed Sunday and Monday, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest update.

— Doyle Rice, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of moving

Verb

Involves engineering hurdles Building solar farms on open water involves far more engineering hurdles than bolting panels onto dry land.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026
Above all, embed accuracy into explainability rather than bolting it on afterward.

— Sriram Bhargav Madhav, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of bolting

Verb

Argentina is producing oil and gas like never before, helping make crude the country’s leading export for the first time, though worries persist that the economy is running along two tracks.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Video captured by e-biker Jamaal Harrison shows the small pig running along Hayworth Avenue near West Hollywood as Harrison follows on his bike.

— USA TODAY, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of running along

Browse Nearby Words

bugging off

bugging out

buggy

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“Bugging out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugging%20out. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of bugging out

verb

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