hair-raising

[ hair-rey-zing ]

/ ˈhɛərˌreɪ zɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hair-raising ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

terrifying or horrifying: We had a hair-raising brush with death.

Nearby words

hair stylist, hair transplant, hair trigger, hair's-breadth, hair-raiser, hair-raising, hair-trigger, hairball, hairbrained, hairbreadth, hairbrush

Origin of hair-raising

First recorded in 1895–1900

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

Examples from the Web for hair-raising

In a hair-raising series of events, he was able to get a ticket to the United States and get out of Uganda.
LGBT Asylum Seekers Need America More Than Ever|Gene Robinson|June 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Very little excited Jay, not even his own hair-raising habit of reading while he drove.
The Strange and Mysterious Death of Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis|Richard Ben Cramer|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The explosive finale, when demonic fans run amok at a movie premiere, is hair-raising in its viciousness.
The 5 Best Novels on Hollywood|Jane Ciabattari|March 6, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The yells which accompanied it were hair-raising as the shrieks from a band of maniacs.
Ben Blair|Will Lillibridge

We were through in safety, but it was the most hair-raising thirty seconds I ever experienced.
All about the Klondyke gold mines|J. Armoy Knox
Copple immediately topped my stories by more wonderful and hair-raising ones about his own adventures in northern Mexico.
Tales of lonely trails|Zane Grey
Isn't there any special form of hair-raising invocation that goes with this dangerous operation?
Visionaries|James Huneker
Long, hair-raising, and Spanish-scalping sentences rolled from his lips like crude petroleum from a five-inch pipe.
Bamboo Tales|Ira L. Reeves

British Dictionary definitions for hair-raising

hair-raising

adjective

inspiring horror; terrifyinga hair-raising drop of 600 feet

Derived Forms

hair-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

hair-raising

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of hair-raising

Examples from the Web for hair-raising

British Dictionary definitions for hair-raising

hair-raising

adjective

Derived Forms