bristle

[bris-uhl]

noun

1. one of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals, especially hogs, used extensively in making brushes.

2. anything resembling these hairs.

verb (used without object)

bristled, bristling 

1. to stand or rise stiffly, like bristles.

2. to erect the bristles, as an irritated animal (often followed byup ).

   The hog bristled up.

3. to become rigid with anger or irritation.

   The man bristled when I asked him to move.

4. to be thickly set or filled with something suggestive of bristles.

   The plain bristled with bayonets. The project bristled with difficulties.

5. to be visibly roused or stirred (usually followed byup ).

verb (used with object)

bristled, bristling 

1. to erect like bristles.

   The rooster bristled his crest.

2. to furnish with a bristle or bristles.

3. to make bristly.

bristle

/ ˈbrɪsəl /

noun

1. any short stiff hair of an animal or plant

2. something resembling these hair

   toothbrush bristle

verb

1. to stand up or cause to stand up like bristles

   the angry cat's fur bristled

2. to show anger, indignation, etc

   she bristled at the suggestion

3. (intr) to be thickly covered or set

   the target bristled with arrows

4. (intr) to be in a state of agitation or movement

   the office was bristling with activity

5. (tr) to provide with a bristle or bristles

Other Word Forms

• bristleless adjective
• bristlelike adjective
• nonbristled adjective
• unbristled adjective
• bristly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bristle¹

before 1000; Middle English bristel, equivalent to brist ( Old English byrst bristle, cognate with German Borste, Old Norse burst ) + -el diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of bristle¹

C13 bristil , brustel , from earlier brust , from Old English byrst ; related to Old Norse burst , Old High German borst

Example Sentences

“But the expense! There are train tickets and hotels . . .” His great black eyebrows drew together in a single bristling line.

Read more on Literature

The tower is bristling with high-tech instruments - sensors that track almost everything happening between the forest and the atmosphere: water vapor, carbon dioxide, sunlight, and essential nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.

Read more on BBC

Manning bristles at the terms “arm talent” and proclamations that a certain quarterback can “spin it.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The water was brimming with creatures, and the station was bristling with birds, but Brightbill and Glimmer ignored the other animals and concentrated on finding Roz.

Read more on Literature

After comparing the markings with modern examples, the scientists concluded that they were made by a soft-bodied marine bristle worm belonging to a group known as spionids.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• bridle 
• fume 
• seethe