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

Jesse Olstead, a twenty-nine-year-old with shaggy brown hair, kept stopping by the box to check the jump list.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
There’s little tension or drive, just shaggy scenes about paranoia, trust and hope.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of shaggy

Adjective

For millions of years, Pacific mastodons — huge, hairy relatives of modern elephants — roamed a vast and lush range that included California, Oregon, the northern Rocky Mountains and parts of Mexico.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
If 97 and 29 do share the ice, the second-line centre appears to be Nugent-Hopkins, which could become hairy in a hurry.

— Janson Duench, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of hairy

Adjective

The buttery pan sauce takes a page from Chris Morocco’s Steak for One, gaining its silky texture from a bottle of oyster sauce.

— Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Sep. 2026
Rodriguez is an eye-catching centre-forward who combines his 6ft 4in (193cm) frame with a silky first touch.

— Thom Harris, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of silky

Browse Nearby Words

bristling

bristly

britches

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“Bristly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristly. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of bristly

adjective

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