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😠 To react angrily 🪥 A stiff hair 🌆 To be full 🌵 To be covered 🐈 To stand up
to bristle

to bristle

19 7.0
To react with sudden anger or offense
  • verb
  • /ˈbrɪsəl/
translation icon : ofenderse
  • He would bristle with anger when he's interrupted during a meeting.
  • bristle with resentment

I know what it's like to bristle at authority.

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Examples

  • And so that is the part that I think gets men, especially younger men, bristling a little bit.

  • Peter Meersman, CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association (CRA), bristles at the implication of obstructionism.

    Academic text (2003)

  • I know what it's like to bristle at authority.

    Film Courage

  • I was surprised to see Kevin bristle a little at this.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • "Pardon me if I bristle every time I hear someone refer to what I do as remedial."

    Academic text (2002)

  • McBride bristles at being forced to make what he considers misleading statements to the public.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Outside, Cy strode back to his car, bristling with temper and frustration.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • In retelling the story, she bristled with indignation: "My husband tricked me."

    Academic text (1993)

  • She tends to bristle whenever someone criticizes her work.

  • The teacher noticed that the student would bristle at any mention of his grades.

Synonyms

to bristle at
vsto bristle
8 7.4

Show sudden anger or annoyance because of something someone says

focuses on immediate anger often tied to feeling offended
to bridle
vsto bristle
1 9.0

To show sudden anger or feel offended, often by becoming stiff

is the same sudden reaction but not limited to that gesture
to bristle up
vsto bristle
7.9

Show sudden anger, often by becoming tense in the face or voice

is about reacting suddenly with anger or offense
to become prickly
vsto bristle
7.6

To react angrily or feel hurt when criticized

is a quicker, sharper angry reaction rather than slow sensitivity

Antonyms

to relax
∞ 1.0

To feel less nervous and more calm

Phrasal Verbs

to bristle at
8 7.4

Show sudden anger or annoyance because of something someone says

to bristle up
7.9

Show sudden anger, often by becoming tense in the face or voice

Compounds

bristle brush
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A brush with short, stiff hairs for cleaning or painting rough surfaces

bristle fern
  • Specialized
9.9

A small fern with thin, often almost clear leaves that grows on trees or mossy banks

bristle grass
8.9

A grass that has curved flower spikes and long stiff hairs under each small flower

hare's-foot bristle fern
  • Specialized
9.9

A fern with soft, hairy creeping stems that look like a rabbit's foot

yellow bristle grass
8.4

A common weed grass with yellow, rough, stiff seed heads

How Angry

to explode
187 3.5
to lash out
71 5.6
to bristle
19 7.0

Surface Forms

bristle infinitive
bristled past
bristled past participle
bristling present participle
bristles third person singular

Etymology

To bristle with anger comes from animals raising their bristles when they are angry or afraid, a clear warning sign. So when a person 'bristles' they react suddenly and show visible tension, much like an animal's hairs rising as a warning.