BRISTLY Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

bristly

adjective

ˈbris-lē

Definition of bristly

as in shaggy

covered with or as if with hair although pigs look hairless, they're actually bristly creatures

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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 bristly And my father—lovable but imposing, a strapping six feet three inches tall with a thick, bristly mustache and a rumbling Sergeant Schultz accent that frightened my friends half to death—loved to tell stories. — CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025 But that hypothesis, Harland wrote in a bristly 1964 Scientific American article, was not supported by any concrete evidence. — Laura Poppick july 22, Literary Hub, 22 July 2025 Called Utah arrays, they are made of hard silicon and look a bit like the bristly part of a hairbrush. — WIRED, 19 Aug. 2022 Thirteen Lives reminds me of Ron Howard's Apollo 13 for its bristly character moments, people caught in extremis. — Joshua Rothkopf, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2022 See All Example Sentences for bristly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristly

Adjective

A bit later, a shaggy-haired knight would win the final competition, beat his chest, and throw a triumphant fist in the air as his section screamed for him.

— Alessandra Schade, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026
Barring some sort of unforeseen cataclysm, Inevitability has reared its great, shaggy head.

— Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of shaggy

Adjective

Two portraits of a woman thought to be Isabella—one by the painter Lorenzo Costa, another attributed to Il Cavazzola or Giulio Campi—depict her with a hairy little white dog, who was perhaps Aura, or, if not, one of her relatives.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
This is executed through the use of varying shades of gray throughout the Field Boot’s upper, which combines a nubuck base with hairy suede overlays and a padded calf leather collar.

— Riley Jones, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of hairy

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bristling

bristly

britches

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“Bristly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristly. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of bristly

adjective

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