as in shaggy
covered with or as if with hair
although pigs look hairless, they're actually bristly creatures
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Recent Examples of bristly
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
Hedgehogs are small mammals, known for their coats, which are covered with bristly spines.
—Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2021
Sandstrom’s most recent Squonk is a hairy, wart-covered monster with bristly, unkempt fur, fangs, and ears that curve down submissively.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 19 Apr. 2020
The authors dutifully report that each pappus, the bristly head of a seed, contains 100 rod-like filaments on average, each about 7.4 mm long and 16.3 μm thick.
—Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2018
See All Example Sentences for bristly
Joshua Rothkopf, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2022
Hedgehogs are small mammals, known for their coats, which are covered with bristly spines.
—Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2021
Sandstrom’s most recent Squonk is a hairy, wart-covered monster with bristly, unkempt fur, fangs, and ears that curve down submissively.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 19 Apr. 2020
The authors dutifully report that each pappus, the bristly head of a seed, contains 100 rod-like filaments on average, each about 7.4 mm long and 16.3 μm thick.
—Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2018
See All Example Sentences for bristly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristly
Adjective
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Sienna Miller has been spotted rocking long boho blonde mermaid waves, while Suki Waterhouse has tried it out on her signature shaggy layers and bangs.—
Jeanne Ballion,
Glamour,
11 Sep. 2025
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Nighy was even anxious seeing himself in character with a shaggy mane and an unusually long beard reflected back to his eyes on the & Sons set.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Flowers of the Cristata group look like hairy brains.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
8 Sep. 2025
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The heist and rescue – followed by a zookeeper’s lesson about the hairy, multilegged creatures – gave me a new respect for the spiders and the keepers at the Cincinnati Zoo and a fascinating story to share with our readers.—
Terry DeMio,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Maple and Francesca each opted for dresses, with the former donning a semi-sheer black number and the latter choosing a silky brown slip dress matching her father's color palette.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
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Hydrolyzed baobab helps strengthen, while jojoba esters condition for silky slip that keeps frizzy hair at bay.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bristly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristly. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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