hair-raising

adjective

hair-rais·​ing ˈher-ˌrā-ziŋ 

: causing terror, excitement, or astonishment

hair-raising stories

hair-raisingly

ˈher-ˌrā-ziŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of hair-raising

• terrifying
• frightening
• formidable
• scary
• horrible
• terrible

Examples of hair-raising in a Sentence

hair-raising stories of headless corpses and disembodied screams

a theme park that is legendary for its lightning-fast roller-coaster and other hair-raising rides

Recent Examples on the Web

The tug of war is also hair-raising because China's approach puts the world's most powerful AI in the hands of bad actors, who could – and likely will – use the models to wreak havoc. — Craig S. Smith, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

The Aniya moment alone would have been enough to earn this couplet of episodes five stars, but the recoupling also included a group booing, another hair-raising, furious speech from Melanie, and a moving Brinity reunion. — Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 29 June 2026

Still that does not mean the exercise won’t be hair-raising for the crew of Artemis II. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 Jan. 2026

His own pharmaceutical quest is nothing short of hair-raising. — Jerome Groopman, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hair-raising

• amazing
• appraising
• rephrasing
• blazing
• brazing
• crazing
• gazing
• glazing
• grazing
• hazing
• phasing
• phrasing

Kids Definition

hair-raising

adjective

hair-rais·​ing

-ˌrā-ziŋ

: very frightening or exciting

a hair-raising story

hair-raisingly

-ziŋ-lē

adverb