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hair-raising

[hair-rey-zing]
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adjective
  1. terrifying or horrifying: We had a hair-raising brush with death.
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Origin of hair-raising

First recorded in 1895–1900
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

breathtaking, terrifying, shocking, frightening, chilling, suspenseful, electrifying, exciting, spine-tingling, bloodcurdling, cliff-hanging, spine-chilling

Examples from the Web for hair-raising

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The way that Spot walked into those dogs and gave them what-for was hair-raising.

    Lost Face

    Jack London

  • No one knew where he could have possibly heard the hair-raising phrase.

  • Piercing, hair-raising, unnatural as they were, Mr. Budlong recognized them.

    The Dude Wrangler

    Caroline Lockhart

  • It was a hair-raising coast, but we made the brink without a spill.

    Down the Yellowstone

    Lewis R. Freeman

  • One fellow, I forget his name, has a most hair-raising theory.

British Dictionary definitions for hair-raising

hair-raising

adjective
  1. inspiring horror; terrifyinga hair-raising drop of 600 feet
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Derived Formshair-raiser, noun
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

Word Origin and History for hair-raising

adj.

"exciting," 1837, from hair + raise (v.). In 19c. works, sometimes as jocular mock-classical tricopherous.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper