pullulate

verb

ˈpəl-yə-ˌlāt How to pronounce pullulate (audio)
Definition of pullulatenext
as in to burst
to be copiously supplied a tough city neighborhood that has a reputation for pullulating with prostitutes and petty criminals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pullulate
  1. burst
  2. buzz
  3. bulge
Verb
  • But the comics bubble burst in the early 2000s, right when King was graduating from college.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 16 July 2026
  • In that time, competing tokenization specialists from the crypto industry such as Ondo and Securitize have burst onto the scene, threatening legacy clearing infrastructure through high-profile partnerships with giants including BlackRock.
    — Tanaya Macheel, CNBC, 15 July 2026
Definition of burst
Verb
  • Drones were buzzing overhead, flying above us; they were being shot down.
    — Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
  • Phones buzzed with alerts that weren't sent out in last year's disaster.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 July 2026
Definition of buzz
Verb
  • My husband Grant Wahl's bulged and burst, at an age when this disease usually means something inherited.
    — Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • With a mouth that can stretch out as wide as rubber and eyes that seem perpetually on the verge of bulging out of their sockets, Campbell is the closest live-action screen actor equivalent cinema has ever had to Bugs Bunny.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 10 July 2026
Definition of bulge
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pull together
pullulate
pullulated
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Pullulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pullulate. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of raffish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'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?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All