HAIR-RAISER Synonyms: 8 Similar and Opposite Words

hair-raiser

noun

ˈher-ˌrā-zər

as in thriller

something (as a close contest) that induces much suspense as to its outcome since they had been dating for five years, her answer to his proposal wasn't exactly a hair-raiser

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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 hair-raiser The streamer has a deep bench of horror films from all eras of cinema among its offerings, from influential classics like Nosferatu (1922) to newer hair-raisers like Possessor (2020), and all kinds of thrillers and chillers in between. —

Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Jan. 2026 And the Halloween-eve hair-raiser adds a cackling skeleton to a horror arcade of ghoulish news for EVs. —

Shawn Tully, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair-raiser

thriller

Noun

The former is right up the alley of fans of supernatural thrillers, while the latter pulls back the curtain on the invention of reality TV.

— Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Apr. 2026
Shot with cold control in black and white by cinematographer Kyle Deitz, Wiseman’s feature debut is a stylish thriller that launched at regional festivals in 2024; what must have seemed near-future about it then seems almost too present-day in 2026.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 24 Apr. 2026