bulged

verb

past tense of bulge
1
as in protruded
to extend outward beyond a usual point the sides of the returning camper's suitcase bulged with a month's worth of dirty laundry

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in burst
to be copiously supplied this guidebook to San Francisco positively bulges with useful information

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 bulged By later in the day, the second lake had bulged — sparking fears of another lethal torrent. — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026 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 Her stomach bulged beneath her I ❤ FLORIDA boatneck and her face was round and waxy-pale. — Stephen King, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026 The Apple engineers’ eyes bulged in astonishment. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026 Angelenos’ eyes bulged at the $1,500-a-head price tag. — Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 Mar. 2026 Taking new measurements, the researchers saw that as fluid gushed between cells, creating indentations in their cell membranes, bubbles mostly bulged into weaker cells. — Clare Watson, Quanta Magazine, 27 Feb. 2026 The surrounding metropolitan area has similarly bulged. — Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026 Even pre-Covid, his pockets bulged with hand sanitizer. — Literary Hub, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bulged
  1. protruded
  2. burst
  3. poked
  4. buzzed
  5. brimmed
  6. hummed
Verb
  • The semiaquatic predator’s eyes would have also protruded from the skull, similar to the Indian gharial, because the eye sockets were raised like a telescope, Burke added.
    — Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The stranger’s hollow cheeks, his dark eyes, whose lashes always appeared wet, the bony shoulders that protruded from the singlet Chee Meng had lent him—all of it frightened Shawn.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of protruded
Verb
  • But on Monday, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan likened many of the investors drawn to the AI boom to gamblers and questioned the economics of AI labs as Wall Street debates whether the AI bubble will burst.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Seven months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, explosions burst through two Nord Stream gas pipelines – Russia’s controversial gas highway into Europe – in the waters between Sweden and Poland.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of burst
Verb
  • Already poked, the league bear hasn’t exactly gone into hibernation, either.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Bellingham poked in Gordon's cross midway through the first half.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of poked
Verb
  • By morning, firefighting aircraft were back in the air dropping water on the Bryson fire in Malibu while the sound of generators purchased by outage-weary residents and business owners buzzed through the canyons.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The doorbell rang constantly as patient after patient walked up to the white window and the volunteer receptionist buzzed them in for their appointments.
    — Tamar Hallerman, AJC.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of buzzed
Verb
  • Carcasses lay strewn along the shoreline as the beach brimmed with weekend activity.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But You Caint Use My Phone, which brimmed with affirmative heaters that wonderfully interrogated screen-staring.
    — Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of brimmed
Verb
  • After the team’s historic, championship-clinching summer, Thursday’s preseason matchup hummed with energy.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2026
  • At a local senior residence center this week, the participants hummed with lindens and then headed into the art room to reflect on paper, using sepia-brown linden ink.
    — Kendra Nordin Beato, Christian Science Monitor, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of hummed

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Cite this Entry

“Bulged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bulged. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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