Bursting With: Standard Pattern
Bursting With: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “bursting with” when someone is filled with a strong emotion or feeling, such as curiosity or excitement.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| filled with a strong feeling or quality | bursting with + noun | use the documented pattern |
| figurative abundance or intense emotion | bursting with + noun | let context identify what fills the person or thing |
Quick tests
Intensity test
Are you emphasizing that someone or something is full of a strong feeling or quality?
If yes: Use “bursting with.”
If no: For a mild amount, choose a less emphatic expression.
Caveat: The phrase is emphatic and often figurative; match it to the intended tone.
Examples
She was bursting with excitement before the announcement.
The construction presents the emotion as very strong.
The children were bursting with curiosity.
A strong feeling naturally follows “bursting with.”
The room was bursting with energy.
The phrase can extend figuratively from people to a setting.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “bursting with” when someone is filled with a strong emotion or feeling, such as curiosity or excitement.
Style Boundary
Cambridge documents “burst with” for strong emotions or wishes. This page does not treat every literal use of “burst” as the same construction.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- burst — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge dictionary entry directly documenting burst/bursting with a strong emotion or wish.