bristle
noun
one of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals, especially hogs, used extensively in making brushes.
bristled
-
past participleof bristle.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
-
past tense formof bristle.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
bristlenounone of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals, especially hogs, used extensively in making brushes.
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.
Shanahan, McVay’s friend/mentor/nemesis, had bristled at the fact that the 49ers were chosen as the Rams’ opponent because it took away the ability of 49ers fans to descend onto SoFi Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
In a tense opening set, Sabalenka bristled with frustration early on as unforced errors crept into her game while Pegula settled quickly and struck the ball cleanly.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
The White House has also bristled at Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's repeated warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence -- including the impact on jobs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
Aronowitz has bristled at this sort of criticism.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
He charged through the rails, bristled up and roaring almost as loud as the bulls.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
