bristly

American  

[bris-lee] / ˈbrɪs li /

adjective

bristlier, bristliest

1. covered or rough with bristles.

2. like or resembling bristles.

3. easily antagonized; irascible.

   a bristly person with few friends.

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Other Word Forms

• bristliness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bristly

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

Explanation

Bristly things are spiky or barbed, like a porcupine. When you get an old-fashioned shoe shine, your shoes will be cleaned with a bristly brush. You can describe a certain type of hair as bristly — if it sticks up in tufts and spikes like a hedgehog's quills. A man's beard stubble is bristly too, and so are spiky bushes and scruffy dogs. Figuratively, if you're bristly, you're cranky and easily irritated: "He spoke carefully, trying not to upset his bristly grandfather."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bristly bristlier

The Solihull-born coach had become bristly with the media during his time in England in high-pressured jobs.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Advances by Gillette that made everyday shaving less painful—and the rise of bristly adversaries like Stalin and Hitler—drove American politicians into a long period of clean-shavedness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

But despite its bristly concept, “The End” largely forgoes any direct images of annihilation, settling into a vast underground bunker with seemingly endless resources well after most humans have perished.

From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2024

That is until Rogen, with all the flourish of a magician, unstacked the hedgehog’s bristly back onto the table on front of him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2024

John Barling sits in silence, a big dumb smile on his bristly face, with Shirley Dumas swaying beside him.

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

With his wispy white hair, a bristlier white beard and red-rimmed eyes, he has the look of a gentleman rabbit, not a warlike royal.

From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2015

He looked bristlier than ever, and was plainly in a state of joyous excitement.

From The Red Hand of Ulster by George A. Birmingham

In the evening, calling to make polite inquiries as to his health, I found him still in bed looking grimier and bristlier than the night before.

From The Belovéd Vagabond by William John Locke