Antonyms for bugs
| Grammar : Noun, verb |
| Spell : buhgz |
| Phonetic Transcription : bÊŒgz |
Definition of bugs
Origin :- "insect," 1620s (earliest reference is to bedbugs), of unknown origin, probably but not certainly from or influenced by Middle English bugge "something frightening, scarecrow" (late 14c.), a meaning obsolete since the "insect" sense arose except in bugbear (1570s) and bugaboo (q.v.).
- Probably connected with Scottish bogill "goblin, bugbear," or obsolete Welsh bwg "ghost, goblin" (cf. Welsh bwgwl "threat," earlier "fear," Middle Irish bocanách "supernatural being"). Some speculate that these words are from a root meaning "goat" (see buck (n.1)) and represent originally a goat-like spectre. Cf. also bogey (n.1) and German bögge, böggel-mann "goblin." Perhaps influenced in meaning by Old English -budda used in compounds for "beetle" (cf. Low German budde "louse, grub," Middle Low German buddech "thick, swollen").
- In the United States bug is not confined, as in England, to the domestic pest, but is applied to all insects of the Coleoptera order, which includes what in this country are generally called beetles. [Farmer & Henley, "Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English," 1912 abridged edition]
- Meaning "defect in a machine" (1889) may have been coined c.1878 by Thomas Edison (perhaps with the notion of an insect getting into the works). Meaning "person obsessed by an idea" (e.g. firebug) is from 1841, perhaps from notion of persistence. Sense of "microbe, germ" is from 1919. Bugs "crazy" is from c.1900. Bug juice as a slang name for drink is from 1869, originally "bad whiskey." The 1811 slang dictionary has bug-hunter "an upholsterer." Bug-word "word or words meant to irritate and vex" is from 1560s.
- noun bacterium, microorganism
- noun insect
- noun obsession
- noun computer glitch
- verb bother, disturb
- verb listen to without permission
- Cap'ns are plenty as June bugs, but Majors and Gen'rals are scarce.
- Extract from : « The Depot Master » by Joseph C. Lincoln
- Got so they kind of swarmed first of every summer, like June bugs.
- Extract from : « Shavings » by Joseph C. Lincoln
- Bugs was short and fat with a round beaming face and a quick smile.
- Extract from : « A Yankee Flier Over Berlin » by Al Avery
- As for bugs and their natural antidotes, he knew them like a book.
- Extract from : « The Prisoner » by Alice Brown
- Bugs and germs and things like that: they're interesting to us: some of them are too interesting.
- Extract from : « The Book of the Damned » by Charles Fort
- There are myriads of cockroaches; but happily fleas, house-flies, and bugs are scarce.
- Extract from : « The Philippine Islands » by John Foreman
- Well, I hope you don't think our Sword-World feudalism doesn't have bugs.
- Extract from : « Space Viking » by Henry Beam Piper
- They eat large numbers of bugs and worms that are harmful to crops.
- Extract from : « Agriculture for Beginners » by Charles William Burkett
- If they did they wouldn't take the bugs away, and that is what has happened.
- Extract from : « The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island » by Laura Lee Hope
- It seems to me as though the box had been broken so the bugs could be taken out.
- Extract from : « The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island » by Laura Lee Hope
Synonyms for bugs
- abrade
- annoy
- ant
- bacillus
- badger
- beetle
- breakdown
- chafe
- computer malfunction
- cootie
- craze
- defect
- disease
- eavesdrop
- enthusiasm
- error
- fad
- failure
- fault
- flaw
- flea
- gall
- germ
- get on someone
- gnat
- harass
- hitch
- infection
- irk
- irritate
- listen in
- louse
- mania
- microbe
- needle
- nettle
- overhear
- pest
- pester
- plague
- problem
- provoke
- rage
- something wrong
- spy
- tap
- trouble
- vermin
- vex
- virus
- wiretap
- zeal
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019