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

Relevance

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

James survived the shooting, but is shown retreating back to his car while losing blood.

— Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
The outlet claimed that, while Beatrice was focused on supporting her family, Edo was retreating into his work.

— Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of retreating

Verb

Trump was secretly shuttled off an Air Force One jet and taken to a smaller, Air Force Boeing C-32A plane via a catering truck just before departing Ankara, Turkey, on July 8 multiple outlets reported.

— Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Advertisement No Democratic lawmakers seeking other office have won their primaries so far, though some departing congressmembers on both sides are still awaiting primaries.

— Chad de Guzman, Time, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of departing

Verb

An Aurora man accused of killing a female bicyclist in Hampshire with his pickup truck and then fleeing the scene has been charged with felony failure to report a crash resulting in a death, officials said.

— Elgin Courier-News, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
Key Background Reiner was accused of fatally stabbing his parents at their home in December and was arrested that same day after fleeing.

— Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of fleeing

Verb

Ranju Das, the athleisure giant’s first-ever chief AI and technology officer, is exiting after less than a year on the job, Bloomberg reports.

— Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
Some of those exiting patrons made their way to hotels that saw a 25% revenue bump between the World Cup and Sail Boston.

— Mike Sullivan, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of exiting

Verb

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on the other plane flying with the president, sources said.

— Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
Patrick Gotwalt was a passenger on the flight and recorded a video showing flames coming from the engine as the flight appears to be flying over water.

— Amanda Jackson, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of flying

Verb

The first is, as mentioned, moving up to the A19 Pro from the A18 Pro; the annual cadence for the chipsets will carry over Neo's annual cadence to the MacBook .

— Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
The Washington Nationals are moving CJ Abrams to second base in the coming days.

— Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of moving

Verb

That work is arguably getting harder as chief executives stay in the job longer, causing their possible successors to get restless; some are bolting to jobs elsewhere or retiring themselves.

— Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026
To save the cost and effort of pumping millions of liters of seawater solely to obtain minerals, the researchers propose bolting modular reactors onto coastal desalination plants, which already move enormous quantities of the stuff.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 July 2026

Definition of bolting

Verb

And, to his right, Koehn saw a man, later identified as 24-year-old Chad Williams, running along Blue Lakes with a rifle in his hands.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 7 Aug. 2026
Two 911 callers reported seeing a child in a towel running along a state highway near the Scioto River, according to audio of the calls obtained by ABC News.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 22 July 2026

Definition of running along

Browse Nearby Words

bugging off

bugging out

buggy

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bugging out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugging%20out. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of bugging out

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

oxymoron

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes