hair-raising

[ hair-rey-zing ]
See synonyms for hair-raising on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. terrifying or horrifying: We had a hair-raising brush with death.

Origin of hair-raising

1
First recorded in 1895–1900

Words Nearby hair-raising

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hair-raising in a sentence

  • The submarine E.14 sailed into harbour after a series of hair-raising adventures in the Sea of Marmora.

  • It was a hair-raising problem, too, and called for every ounce of nerve and every particle of skill the boy possessed.

    Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
  • But Braithwaite has won his spurs now in many a hair-raising crisis, so K. may let his mind rest at ease.

  • He related with appropriate force the hair-raising episode of the weird white figure.

    The Gold Bat | P. G. Wodehouse
  • Welcome described another hair-raising turn at another place that allowed him to circle, and came whooping back.

British Dictionary definitions for hair-raising

hair-raising

adjective
  1. inspiring horror; terrifying: a hair-raising drop of 600 feet

Derived forms of hair-raising

  • hair-raiser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012