Meaning

A stiff or coarse hair on a nonhuman mammal or on a plant..

Definitions by Sense

1. A stiff or coarse hair on a nonhuman mammal or on a plant.
2. A chaeta: an analogous filament on arthropods, annelids, or other animals.
3. The hairs or other filaments that make up a brush, broom, or similar item, typically made from plant cellulose, animal hairs, or synthetic polymers.
4. (intransitive) To rise or stand erect, like bristles.
5. (intransitive, usually with with) To abound, to be covered with, or to have an abundance of, something, especially something jutting out.
6. (intransitive, usually with at or with) To be on one's guard or raise one's defenses; to react with fear, suspicion, or distance.
7. (transitive, now rare or obsolete) To make (something) rise or stand erect, like bristles.
8. (transitive, uncommon) To cause (someone) to be on one's guard or raise one's defenses.

Example Sentences

the bristles of a pig

His hair began to bristle with anger when the subject was mentioned.

The cat’s fur bristled when the dog approached.

The soldier’s body would bristle with tension before a battle.

His hair did bristle upon his head.

He sat down with his elbows upon the desk, his gorilla hands clasped together, his beard bristling forward, and his big grey eyes, half-covered by his drooping lids, fixed benignly upon me.

the hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets

ports bristling with thousands of masts

Word Forms

• bristles
• bristling
• bristled

Synonyms for bristle

Related Words

When Should You Use Bristle?

Use bristle when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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