bristle

American  

[bris-uhl] / ˈbrɪs əl /

noun

• bristles
  plural

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

2. anything resembling these hairs.

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verb (used without object)

• bristles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bristled,
  past participle,  past
• bristling
  present participle

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)

• bristles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bristled,
  past participle,  past
• bristling
  present participle

1. to erect like bristles.

   The rooster bristled his crest.

2. to furnish with a bristle or bristles.

3. to make bristly.

bristle British  

/ ˈbrɪsəl /

noun

1. any short stiff hair of an animal or plant

2. something resembling these hair

   toothbrush bristle

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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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bristles
  plural

Participles

• bristling
  present
• bristled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bristle
  simple
• bristles
  simple
• have bristled
  perfect
• has bristled
  perfect
• am bristling
  progressive
• are bristling
  progressive
• is bristling
  progressive
• have been bristling
  perfect progressive
• has been bristling
  perfect progressive

Past

• bristled
  simple
• had bristled
  perfect
• was bristling
  progressive
• were bristling
  progressive
• had been bristling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bristle
  simple
• will have bristled
  perfect
• will be bristling
  progressive
• will have been bristling
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bristle bristles bristled bristling

But plaintiff attorneys bristle that the program limits their fees at 10% of the award, much less than the 30% to 40% they obtain in contingency fees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Twelve months on, for their Premier League opener at Brighton on Sunday, Ollie Watkins was the name to make Emery bristle.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

So what gets me to bristle a little bit is that when I have to talk about that, that means — respectfully — I’m talking to somebody who doesn’t know anything about me.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

And if interviewers bristle at questions or dodge them, that could be a red flag.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026

Still, Chaol understood enough to bristle, and Celaena could hardly contain her glee.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

An exquisite anthology of Cohn’s writing from his early days through the present, “Corner Boy” bristles with the electric, contrarian voice of a working cultural critic.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026

Raised in Puerto Rico by parents with both Boricuan and Cuban heritage, Bermúdez bristles at attempts to divide Latinos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

But having grown up in less-privileged circumstances, she’s uneasy in the world she now inhabits and bristles at the condescending manner of her mother-in-law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

His wife hated the new bristles, but he let them grow fuller and wilder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

My father bristles around Cade, avoids him as much as possible.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

Resuming blaring K-pop music -- which the isolated North has long bristled at -- across the border has been floated by analysts as a possible response to last month's blast.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

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

Aronowitz has bristled at this sort of criticism.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

I would ordinarily have bristled at his comment, but Deoch was nothing but good natured.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

“I don’t know what a ‘John Turturro type’ is,” he says, bristling slightly at the suggestion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

The production is marked by a rare fluidity and ease, while at the same time bristling with energy and bright humor interspersed with moments of arresting, rich feeling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The top is divided into 10-by-10 grids bristling with small colorful flags designating where the plants should be placed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2026

That was the same year as his no-holds-barred memoir Spare and a year after the Harry and Meghan Netflix documentary, both bristling with controversial views on the Royal Family.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026

In their jackets of bristling skins they seemed wild beasts rather than men, as they spread in a wide arc across the slope.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander

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