bristly

[ bris-lee ]
See synonyms for: bristlybristliness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,bris·tli·er, bris·tli·est.
  1. covered or rough with bristles.

  2. like or resembling bristles.

  1. easily antagonized; irascible: a bristly person with few friends.

Origin of bristly

1
First recorded in 1585–95; bristle + -y1

Other words from bristly

  • bris·tli·ness, noun

Words Nearby bristly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bristly in a sentence

  • There are two tufts of hair, of a bright yellow, below the ears, and another tuft of bristly hair upon the top of the head.

    Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
  • They were all legs and teeth and bristly fur, the meat almost inedible.

    Space Prison | Tom Godwin