bristle

[ bris-uh l ]

/ ˈbrɪs əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bristle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

anything resembling these hairs.

verb (used without object), bris·tled, bris·tling.

to stand or rise stiffly, like bristles.

to erect the bristles, as an irritated animal (often followed by up): The hog bristled up.

to become rigid with anger or irritation: The man bristled when I asked him to move.

to be thickly set or filled with something suggestive of bristles: The plain bristled with bayonets. The project bristled with difficulties.

to be visibly roused or stirred (usually followed by up).

verb (used with object), bris·tled, bris·tling.

to erect like bristles: The rooster bristled his crest.

to furnish with a bristle or bristles.

to make bristly.

Nearby words

brisken, brisket, brisling, brisso, brissot, bristle, bristle worm, bristle-grass, bristle-thighed curlew, bristlebird, bristlecone pine

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

Related forms

bris·tle·less, adjectivebris·tle·like, adjectivenon·bris·tled, adjectiveun·bris·tled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bristling

Security guards stand about, bristling with straps and guns and billy clubs.
Adam Hochschild on Keeping Company With His Dying Father|Adam Hochschild|June 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The National Rifle Association was always there bristling on the barricades of opposition.
For Obama, Romney, and America, Gun Control Is Dead|Robert Shrum|July 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Mike Huckabee says she “glamorizes” out-of-wedlock pregnancy and critics are bristling over her starry-eyed view of motherhood.
Everybody Hates Natalie|Joyce C. Tang|March 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
One half went on board an armed steamer, whose decks were soon swarming with soldiers and bristling with guns.
The Drummer Boy|John Trowbridge

Along that gorge rode a motley throng—bearded men on half-wild horses, five hundred strong, bristling with weapons.
The People of the Black Circle|Robert E. Howard
Nor is it a comedy of character, bristling with smart sayings—everybody saying clever, ill-natured things about everybody else.
Miser Farebrother, Volume I (of 3)|Benjamin Leopold Farjeon
Through that opening we could see the bristling peaks of the Sextenthal.
Little Rivers|Henry van Dyke
Glades, bristling with stumps worn away by time, were covered with dry wood, which formed an inexhaustible store of fuel.
The Mysterious Island|Jules Verne

British Dictionary definitions for bristling

bristle

/ (ˈbrɪsəl) /

noun

any short stiff hair of an animal or plant

something resembling these hairtoothbrush bristle

verb

(when intr , often foll by up) to stand up or cause to stand up like bristlesthe angry cat's fur bristled

(intr sometimes foll by up) to show anger, indignation, etcshe bristled at the suggestion

(intr) to be thickly covered or setthe target bristled with arrows

(intr) to be in a state of agitation or movementthe office was bristling with activity

(tr) to provide with a bristle or bristles

Derived Forms

bristly, adjective

Word Origin for bristle

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

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