Americans tend to bristle even at self-censorship; we are reluctant to declare that we simply are not going to look at something.
And they bristle too at the notion that they had some kind of personal enmity toward the president.
Of course there are those who bristle at such neologisms—the scolds, the conservative prescriptivists, the SNOOTs.
In fact, so complete was his recovery, he later allowed himself to bristle at comparisons with Spitzer.
Republicans, meanwhile, bristle with anger as they attempt to defend against the flood of new information.
Pete bristled—as much as a fat man could bristle on so hot a day.
How was he to know that this thing that sniffed was a thing at which to bristle?
The whole place, behind the fence, appeared to bristle and resound.
The mane on his back began to bristle, and I knew that I had but a small second in which to act.
Hill began to bristle and to look around in search of the one who had spoken.
Old English byrst "bristle," with metathesis of -r-, from Proto-Germanic *bursti- (cf. Middle Dutch borstel, German borste), from PIE *bhrsti- from root *bhars- "point, bristle" (cf. Sanskrit bhrstih "point, spike"). With -el, diminutive suffix.
c.1200 (implied in past participle adjective bristled) "set or covered with bristles," from bristle (n.). Meaning "become angry or excited" is 1540s, from the way animals show fight. Related: Bristling.
