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
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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
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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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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
Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 5 Jan. 2026
The building, which was bustling with life Sunday night, is now an empty shell.
—Vanessa Murdock, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bustling
Adjective
With hundreds of stores and services, Asian Garden Mall is a bustling place for the famished.
—Verb
Days are easy to fill, shopping on King’s Parade (be sure to pop into Nomads for unique trinkets and jewellery), browsing the stalls in the bustling Market Square or visiting one of the city’s world-class museums (the Fitzwilliam is a must).
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for bustling
Adjective
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Visiting the restaurant has become an expression of the purest form of Panthers fandom — and that’s helped make this week quite busy ahead of the Panthers’ first home playoff game in 10 years.—
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Those who remain are concentrated in Venezuela’s cities, including its capital, Caracas, where the street market in the Catia neighborhood once was so busy that shoppers bumped into one another and dodged oncoming traffic.—
Adjective
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Once a pivotal railway stop, later the site of world-stage events, like the 1996 Olympic Games, and most recently, a filming epicenter, Conyers has blossomed into a buzzing destination, drawing visitors from across the globe.—
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The cancellations made up nearly half of the airline’s flight schedule during the buzzing holiday season.—
Verb
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First responders in Atlanta rushed to an airport runway Tuesday after an aircraft experienced a harrowing landing failure, with all eight of its landing tires bursting the moment the plane touched down, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.—
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And Johnson can’t erase the imagery of poor Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham, a top-5 pick, bursting through the B-gap at the snap only to be crushed by guard Jonah Jackson.—
Verb
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But one weekend in November, people who would typically be hurrying by, staring down at their phones, stopped.—
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Butler began hurrying Boise State and pushing up the tempo, which allowed the Broncos to score off several backdoor cuts and slip screens for big dunks and layups at the rim.—
Adjective
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Those late audits have caused ongoing comments by engaged residents who are perplexed that year after year the town’s government is not able to provide the same audit the state’s other 168 municipalities complete and submit to the public and the state’s budget office.—
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Guiliani said her students have been more engaged and focused.—
Adjective
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With their vibrant pink color and unusual picotee pattern, the flowers of 'Supra Cherry' picotee dianthus will command attention in the garden.—
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Shop it in a set of two or pick up a single jar, and choose from two colors, including this deep green or vibrant orange.—
Verb
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The neighborhood/area The ocean is your playground here, and snorkelers and divers will find plenty of reasons to explore the teeming coral reefs below.—
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This is a frankly majestic imagining of 16th-century feudal Japan filled with paddy fields, winding valleys, windswept plains, and teeming towns all knitted together into a virtual tapestry of striking geographic verisimilitude.—
Verb
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The Legion Pro Rollable lets players train in conditions closer to tournament play, even while traveling.—
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The Santa Rosa Police Department said in a press release that officers responded to multiple reports of a shooting at the mall and found a 15-year-old boy who had been shot, with the bullet traveling through his body, leaving entry and exit wounds in his upper shoulder and mid-back area.—
Cite this Entry
“Bustling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bustling. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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