bristly
- adjective
- /ˈbrɪsli/
:
irritable
- The teacher noticed a bristly reaction from the students when she mentioned the test.
Examples
-
His bristly remarks often upset his colleagues during meetings.
-
His bristly response brought a smile from the doctor, who was setting his bag on a table beside Steven's bed.
Fiction book (1991) -
Would he never say the right thing to this bristly girl?"
Fiction book (1996) -
And maybe what you could say is it really hurts you that you're chilly and kind of like bristly toward his family.
-
Buster's wife, Sandy, lit another menthol cigarette and shook out her paper match with bristly impatience.
Fiction book (1995) -
She became bristly when anyone discussed her personal life.
Synonyms
24
7.2
A person who is unfriendly and often angry in a rough or threatening way
13
5.7
Quick to get angry or upset by small things
5
5.9
Quick to feel annoyed or offended by small remarks
5
8.6
Quick to become angry, often at small things
2
9.1
Gets angry easily about small things
1
9.1
Being easily annoyed and quick to feel offended
1
9.9
Easily become angry and say harsh things
1
8.1
Easily annoyed and quick to speak sharply
1
9.7
Feeling annoyed and in a bad mood
1
9.9
Quick to become angry or take offense
1
8.9
Being rude and getting upset by small things
Quick to feel offended and show anger
Being bad-tempered and easily offended
Antonyms
Compounds
A large bush or small tree with rough stiff hairs on its stems and clusters of pink flowers
A rough herb from eastern and central North America with black berries and bark used for medicine
How Irritable
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Bristly also uses the same idea for people: imagine an animal's hairs standing up when it feels angry or scared, like a hedgehog or porcupine. So when someone is bristly, they are easily annoyed and quick to give sharp, unfriendly answers.