bulge

1. noun

1)

a bulge in the tire

Syn:

swelling, bump, lump, protuberance, prominence, tumescence

2) informal

a bulge in the population

Syn:

surge, upsurge, rise, increase, escalation

2. verb

his eyes were bulging

Syn:

swell, stick out, puff out, balloon (out), bug out, fill out, belly, distend, tumefy, intumesce; project, protrude, stand out

••

bulge, project, protrude, protuberate

While all of these verbs mean to extend outward, beyond the normal line or surface of something, it is almost impossible not to associate the word bulge with the human body (a stomach that bulges over a waistband, muscles that bulge beneath a shirt). Bulge suggests a swelling out that is quite noticeable or even abnormal, and that may be the result of internal pressure, although a brick wall can bulge, as can a bicep muscle. Protuberate is a less common word meaning to swell or stick out, but it does not necessarily imply that anything is abnormal or radically wrong (he was so thin that his knees protuberated). To protrude is to thrust forth in an unexpected way or to stick out in a way that is abnormal or disfiguring (her eyes protruded from her skull). Project is the least upsetting of all these words, probably because it is used less often with reference to the human body. Anything that juts out abruptly beyond the rest of a surface is said to project (the balcony projected from the south side of the house).