Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for bristle on Thesaurus.com one of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals, especially hogs, used extensively in making brushes. anything resembling these hairs. Show More
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 ). Show More
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 . Show More
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 , adjective bris·tle·like , adjective non·bris·tled , adjective un·bris·tled , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bristling Contemporary Examples of bristling Security guards stand about, bristling with straps and guns and billy clubs.
The National Rifle Association was always there bristling on the barricades of opposition.
Mike Huckabee says she “glamorizes” out-of-wedlock pregnancy and critics are bristling over her starry-eyed view of motherhood.
Historical Examples of bristling We could see the shafts of the darts fast in the cleft, bristling in the moonlight.
"See you in Guinea first," muttered Bandy-legs, bristling up.
Ah, that beautiful and mysterious shore, all bristling with rocks!
Slowly, slowly, the bristling ball straightened out and lengthened.
He faced the boy, bristling and snarling, his sense of justice outraged.
British Dictionary definitions for bristling any short stiff hair of an animal or plant something resembling these hair toothbrush bristle Show More
(when intr , often foll by up ) to stand up or cause to stand up like bristles the angry cat's fur bristled (intr sometimes foll by up ) to show anger, indignation, etc she bristled at the suggestion (intr) to be thickly covered or set the target bristled with arrows (intr) to be in a state of agitation or movement the office was bristling with activity (tr) to provide with a bristle or bristles Show More
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
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Word Origin and History for bristling n. Old English byrst "bristle," with metathesis of -r- , from Proto-Germanic *bursti- (cf. Middle Dutch borstel , German borste ), from PIE *bhrsti- from root *bhars- "point, bristle" (cf. Sanskrit bhrstih "point, spike"). With -el , diminutive suffix.
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v. c.1200 (implied in past participle adjective bristled ) "set or covered with bristles," from bristle (n.). Meaning "become angry or excited" is 1540s, from the way animals show fight. Related: Bristling .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
