bristled

past tense of bristle

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bristled Sonorous jaws bristled with the thick chin hairs of your least-favourite grandmother. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026 In this case, though, the defense bristled, forcing Indy to settle for a game-tying field goal that in turn enabled the Chiefs to prevail 33-30 on Harrison Butker’s 40-yard field goal on the last play of overtime. — Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026 Lawrence bristled at that charge, noting that he's been protesting data centers since last fall when a wave of new projects was proposed across the district and the state. — ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026 Bueno bristled at the notion that city residents' confidence in the 911 system could be shaken by the call. — David Clarey, jsonline.com, 26 Aug. 2026 Multiple sources tell Rambling there were creative differences between Ellis and HBO — hardly a shock given that the author has bristled at adaptations of his work for 25 years, since American Psycho. — Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026 At a busy early voting site on Madison's north side, even some of Hong's supporters bristled at some of her controversial positions. — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026 When some senators pressed him on the memos’ content, Roberts bristled. — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 If your shutters have slats, carefully wipe between each slat, using a toothbrush or soft-bristled brush to get into corners. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 4 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristled
Verb
  • As if triggered by this thought, the door buzzed itself open, startling the pigeons from wire to wing, a grand scattering.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Upon the stone’s discovery, the world of Egyptology buzzed with questions.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Zverev served for the match in the second set but double-faulted to hand De Minaur a break and the Australian stormed back into it.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Authorities said key fugitives in the case include Dimitri Hérard, ex-head of security at Haiti's National Palace, who escaped two years ago after a powerful gang federation stormed Haiti's two biggest prisons.
    — EVENS SANON, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In these moments, the actor bursts through his roles as the Spider does through Reilly, unleashing the Grand Guignol excess that is Nicolas Cage.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Two weeks after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, the Russian TV Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova burst onto the set of the evening newscast.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • And during the civil wars between King and Parliament that raged across Britain in the 1640s, such ideal stasis was impossible to preserve.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Throughout the night, the band raged through 18 songs as Vedder rollicked onstage, sending the thousands gathered on the stretch of Doheny Beach into an absolute fervor.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Duke also knew that in the country’s beautiful capital, Budapest, cafés hummed with arguments about poetry and politics, the press was relatively free, and Jewish businesses were still open.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Pastel Colonial buildings lined the streets, their facades glowing in the afternoon sun, while the plazas hummed with life.
    — Chantelle Kincy, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In a phone call with The Times from jail, his first interview since his arrest, Marset fumed about the case.
    — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Mizzou fans fumed about beating KU but playing in the lesser bowl.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • By later in the day, the second lake had bulged — sparking fears of another lethal torrent.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
  • My husband Grant Wahl's bulged and burst, at an age when this disease usually means something inherited.
    — Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News, 13 July 2026
Verb
  • Carcasses lay strewn along the shoreline as the beach brimmed with weekend activity.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But You Caint Use My Phone, which brimmed with affirmative heaters that wonderfully interrogated screen-staring.
    — Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Bristled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristled. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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