to raise hackles
1
7.9
- idiom
:
levantar la ira
- From the beginning, scientism as applied to the study of international relations raised hackles.
They were things that raised hackles among a thin slice of Democratic activists.
- They were things that raised hackles among a thin slice of Democratic activists.
Examples
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The decision to cut funding for healthcare raised hackles among many advocates and citizens.
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So we can talk about the "moral role" of such disciplines without raising hackles.
Academic text (1993) -
And I think that that probably raises hackles for a lot of people, and I certainly would have been one of them.
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These these raise hackles among sociological students who read them.
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They were things that raised hackles among a thin slice of Democratic activists.
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Now every tiny incursion against the constitutional separation of church and state raises hackles on my neck!
Blog text (1) -
Hearing that repeated by a respected author who clearly has no idea what kind of books are being self-published nowadays raises hackles.
Blog text (21) -
The notion of bidders might raise hackles in an area where politicians and residents have vivid memories of past exploitation by rich nations, but in this case, a successful bidder would not win the right to drain resources but accept an obligation to put resources in.
Academic text (2004) -
The new policy raised hackles among the employees, who felt it was unfair.
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His comments about the project raised hackles in the community, leading to protests.
Synonyms
246
1.0
Make someone slightly angry or bothered by small repeated actions
144
3.6
Annoy someone again and again to make them react
114
1.0
To make someone very upset or annoyed
78
2.9
Make someone feel annoyed or impatient, often by repeated small actions
63
6.9
Make someone annoyed, often by small things
48
4.8
To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear
46
5.0
Make someone very angry
31
4.1
Make someone feel slightly upset or annoyed
31
5.8
To make people's feelings stronger, especially anger or hate
25
7.2
To annoy someone again and again so they feel bothered
9
7.2
Upset people by challenging usual views
8
6.8
Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them
8
7.2
To make an argument or feeling worse by encouraging it
8
7.1
To annoy someone deeply
7
4.9
To bother someone again and again until they feel angry
6
7.0
To cause someone to feel very angry
4
7.4
To annoy someone a lot by small things another person does
2
8.2
To offend someone and make them feel annoyed or hurt
1
7.1
To do or say something on purpose to annoy someone
1
9.1
To make someone angry
1
7.8
To do or say something on purpose to upset someone and see their reaction
1
7.9
To annoy someone or make them feel defensive
1
9.8
To make someone feel very annoyed or upset
To annoy someone so they become defensive
To annoy someone or make them angry
To annoy someone by doing the same small things again and again
To cause trouble between people to get attention
Antonyms
How Angry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'raise' (to lift/cause) combined with 'hackles' (literally the hairs on an animal's neck that stand up when threatened) yields a clear metaphor: causing someone's defensive hairs to stand, i.e. provoking anger. Because the meaning depends on a metaphorical image and on knowing the less common word 'hackles', the sense is partly predictable but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The idiom raise hackles comes from animals: the hairs along the neck called hackles raise when the animal is scared or angry, so it looks ready to fight. That's why to raise hackles means to make someone feel 'angry' or 'annoyed'.