: having the eyes bulging (as with fright)

Examples of bug-eyed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
There’s a bug-eyed rabbit, a blue donkey and several variations of what appear to be skulls. Ryan Steven Green, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 In his weirdest picture—the late, baroque, campy Allegory of Faith—a bug-eyed female figure is shown clutching her chest, one foot balanced perilously on a globe, while a snake gushing blood from its jaws gyrates in the foreground. Clare Bucknell, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026 The occupational therapist’s bug-eyed goldfish and my attending’s regal twin tabbies, Sasha and Mischa, stare back at me from the wall. Ashley Andreou, STAT, 22 June 2026 Herzog, known for his enigmatic films and single-minded commitment to achieving the impossible (pulling a boat over a mountain, for one) found a worthy artistic partner in the square-jawed, demonically charming, bug-eyed Klaus Kinski. Debby Wolfinsohn, Entertainment Weekly, 27 May 2026 Critics called the Airflow bug-eyed and rhinocerine, according to a 1977 retrospective by Howard Irwin in Scientific American. Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 29 Apr. 2026 Try a pair of trendy bug-eyed sunglasses to balance out your gigantic grocery tote. Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 6 Apr. 2026 Laina Morris, for instance, has tried to move on from the image of her grinning, bug-eyed face that became a popular meme portraying her as an overly protective and clingy girlfriend. Ben Pettis, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026 Instead of an ´80s tracksuit and bug-eyed glasses, the Best Supporting Actress nominee wore a Dior jacket outfit covered in black and yellow petal-like embroidery, paired with slim trousers and tinted sunglasses. Kevin Huynh, InStyle, 16 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bug-eyed was in 1872

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Cite this Entry

“Bug-eyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bug-eyed. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.

Kids Definition

bug-eyed

adjective
-ˌīd
: having the eyes bulging (as in astonishment)
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