1
as in busy
involved in often constant activity
a bustling greeter was there to welcome guests to the grand opening
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in buzzing
marked by much life, movement, or activity
a bustling shopping center during the Christmas season
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in bursting
to be copiously supplied
on Saturdays the city's downtown bustles with activity as a farmers' market sets up shop
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hurrying
to proceed or move quickly
the hostess bustled about, taking care of last-minute preparations for the party
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bustling
Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 23 Oct. 2025
This leads some landlords to cut the prices and open the doors to independent and local type businesses just to keep a plaza active and bustling.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2025
Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 5 Nov. 2025
In just a few hours, her quaint and homey soul food staple, Shaw-naé’s House, will be bustling with guests.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bustling
Adjective
With hundreds of stores and services, Asian Garden Mall is a bustling place for the famished.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 23 Oct. 2025
This leads some landlords to cut the prices and open the doors to independent and local type businesses just to keep a plaza active and bustling.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
But the woman, known to many as the iconic girl-next-door Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years, isn't fazed by her full and bustling life.
—Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 5 Nov. 2025
In just a few hours, her quaint and homey soul food staple, Shaw-naé’s House, will be bustling with guests.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bustling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bustling
Adjective
-
At 40 of the country’s busiest airports, flights coming and going will be reduced by 10% this week.—
The Kim Komando Show,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The shutdown’s ripple effects spread across nearly every part of the air travel network Friday, with the nation’s busiest airports hit hardest.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Four years, later, Guillory opened a second store in New Orleans’ Central Business District, a streetcar ride away from fashionable Magazine Street and the buzzing French Quarter.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
11 Nov. 2025
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With historical sights like the Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace brushing up against buzzing bars and lively cafes, Ottoman-era mosques a short walk from contemporary art museums, and traditional carpet shops around the corner from trendy boutiques, Istanbul is a place where old and new coexist.—
Katie Nadworny,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Flowers bloom all over the city, from fragrant jasmine to hot pink petals bursting from Judas trees.—
Katie Nadworny,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Nov. 2025
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While images of retinas bursting with color and a dove flapping its wings on an outstretched human hand looped behind them, the two allowed the crowd to grow denser while bobbing along to their rhythms.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
In the footage, the children could be seen hurrying off the bus and onto the woman’s porch as the smoke grew.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Pedestrians are hurrying past to find their places on Fifth Avenue, but the girls have a different kind of readiness about them.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Try having a musician become engaged for that length of time.—
Karen Taylor Bass,
Billboard,
6 Nov. 2025
-
In the year since their split, Turner has gotten engaged to his new partner, Lana Sutton.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Here, vibrant colors combine to complete a mosaic of flowers and trees that extends far into the distance.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
12 Nov. 2025
-
The silky maxidress was wholly evocative of the holiday season, with a vibrant color that referenced popular shades of green and red often associated with the Christmas holiday.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Chelsea are 5-1 up against 10 men, the result long since secured, but no one wants to head for the exits to escape the teeming rain just yet.—
Simon Johnson,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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The movie, which runs two hours and forty-one minutes, is stuffed with fast-moving, complicated action and intricate dialogue, and the editing intercuts quickly among its teeming array of places, events, and characters.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Heat also again faces the Cavaliers in back-to-back games later this season, traveling to Cleveland to play the Cavaliers on March 25 and 27.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
11 Nov. 2025
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Atkins died three days after the fatal collision, which occurred after Owen-Cooper had been traveling around 53 mph on a road with a 20 mph speed limit.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bustling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bustling. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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