protuberant

1 8.4

Sticks out from a surface in a round or curved way

adjective
/prəˈtjuːbərənt/

: protuberante

A protuberant jaw is made particularly evident by vegetation that becomes a green, leafy tree/beard.
protuberant eyes
protuberant nose
protuberant teeth

Examples

Jaime feels the thick, spatulate fingers softly digging into his shoulders, the protuberant stomach pressing against the slope of his shoulder blades.

Fiction book (1996)
She pushes her long hair behind her slightly protuberant ears.

Fiction book (1990)
I assume the track continued on its course around his protuberant belly.

Fiction book (2002)
His eyes were gray and slightly protuberant, an effect heightened by his receding hairline.

Academic text (1994)
There, on a protuberant rocky mound, we find a group of apes made conspicuous by their isolation.

Academic text (2006)
Olive, who had just turned twelve, kept tucking her blonde hair behind her protuberant ears and sighing loudly between bites.

Fiction book (1998)
Mrs. Graven, the shy, aged mathematics instructor whose throat was peppered with protuberant moles.

Fiction book (1999)
She too had a moderate nasal hump and protuberant nasal tip that had bothered her psychologically throughout her adult life.

Academic text (1994)
Grausse's eyes, protuberant and teary, traveled around to touch everyone in the group, and he nodded deeply, as if feeling the solemnity of his role as sixth, as a sacrificial lamb.

Fiction book (1998)
His pale, unusually protuberant eyes made him look both startled and hypnotically intense.

Synonyms

sticking out

vsprotuberant

65 2.9

Coming out past a surface so it can be seen

is more specific by adding a curved, rounded form to that extension

bulging

vsprotuberant

25 3.6

Sticking out in a rounded shape because something inside pushes

is similar but also implies a noticeable outward extension beyond the surface

protruding

vsprotuberant

10 4.2

Sticking out from a surface like a nail or branch

is more about a curved, rounded swell as well as extending outward

bulbous

vsprotuberant

10 5.5

Having a round, swollen shape like a bulb

is like this but stresses both roundness and outward extension

jutting

vsprotuberant

4 4.8

Sticking out from a surface or edge

is less angular and more about smooth, curved outward swelling

projecting

vsprotuberant

2 4.2

Sticks out from a surface or edge

is more about a rounded, curved swell rather than only straight projection

bulgy

vsprotuberant

1 4.3

Sticking out in a rounded way

is more strongly about both the curve and obvious outward projection

protrusive

vsprotuberant

1 7.6

Sticking out from a surface so it is noticed

is steadier, describing a curved, rounded swell rather than thrusting out

bellied

vsprotuberant

5.6

Having a rounded shape that sticks out from the middle of the body

is broader, describing any curved outward swell not only belly shapes

Antonyms

flat

414 1.0

Level and even without parts higher or lower

How Protruding

distended

Specialized

10 7.8

bulging

25 3.6

protuberant

1 8.4

projecting

2 4.2

raised

57 1.0

Surface Forms

protuberant positive

Morphology

protuberant = protuber (semi-transparent) = pro + tuber + ant

The suffix '-ant' indicates an adjective form, but the specific meaning of 'protuberant' as 'bulging' is not fully transparent.

Etymology

The word protuberant comes from pro- meaning 'out' and tuber meaning 'lump' or 'swelling', and a 'tuber' is the kind of lump you find in a potato. So something protuberant is like a lump pushing out from a surface, which is why it means 'sticking out' or bulging.