bristle
Americannoun
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one of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals, especially hogs, used extensively in making brushes.
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anything resembling these hairs.
verb (used without object)
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to stand or rise stiffly, like bristles.
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to erect the bristles, as an irritated animal (often followed byup ).
The hog bristled up.
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to become rigid with anger or irritation.
The man bristled when I asked him to move.
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to be thickly set or filled with something suggestive of bristles.
The plain bristled with bayonets. The project bristled with difficulties.
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to be visibly roused or stirred (usually followed byup ).
verb (used with object)
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to erect like bristles.
The rooster bristled his crest.
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to furnish with a bristle or bristles.
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to make bristly.
noun
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any short stiff hair of an animal or plant
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something resembling these hair
toothbrush bristle
verb
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to stand up or cause to stand up like bristles
the angry cat's fur bristled
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to show anger, indignation, etc
she bristled at the suggestion
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(intr) to be thickly covered or set
the target bristled with arrows
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(intr) to be in a state of agitation or movement
the office was bristling with activity
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(tr) to provide with a bristle or bristles
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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bristlelessadjective
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bristlelikeadjective
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bristlyadjective
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nonbristledadjective
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unbristledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bristlesimple
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bristlessimple
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have bristledperfect
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has bristledperfect
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am bristlingprogressive
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are bristlingprogressive
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is bristlingprogressive
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have been bristlingperfect progressive
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has been bristlingperfect progressive
Past
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bristledsimple
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had bristledperfect
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was bristlingprogressive
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were bristlingprogressive
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had been bristlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bristle
before 1000; Middle English bristel, equivalent to brist ( Old English byrst bristle, cognate with German Borste, Old Norse burst ) + -el diminutive suffix
Explanation
A bristle is a stiff hair — the kind men shave off their face or the kind badgers have all over. Bristle also means to get angry. Tell an animal rights activist you use a badger's bristle shaving brush and you'll get the idea. The emotional meaning of to bristle comes from the fact that most animal bristles used by man are so-called erectile hairs — the ones that stand up on the neck or along the back of animal when it's angry or surprised. A common word associated with bristle is hackle, another name for such erectile animal hairs. Thus the saying "to get one's hackles up," which is pretty much identical to bristling.
Vocabulary lists containing bristle
Instead of "Said": Vexed Verbiage to Express Anger
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"Of Mice and Men"
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Not in my favor: I cannot abide hippie culture, bristle at the slightest whiff of woo woo and balk reflexively at the phrase “loving kindness,” which immediately calls to mind the worst person I know.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
And if interviewers bristle at questions or dodge them, that could be a red flag.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
Many residents are thrilled by the promising tool, but others bristle at the idea of manipulating nature.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026
It was perhaps inevitable that judges would bristle at a government spokeswoman deriding them as hacks.
From Slate • Feb. 18, 2026
Mrs. Beale was out front with the yellow bucket, soapsuds spilling over the brim, a stiff bristle brush in her hand.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
