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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Recent Examples of hair-raiser
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
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair-raiser
thriller
Noun
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The climactic sequence set aboard a military aircraft, with Ben facing off against the Hunters, would have been simpler in a Bruce Willis thriller, and more satisfying.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
11 Nov. 2025
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German actor-writer-director Til Schweiger and Splitsville star Charlie Gillespie have jumped on board Contra, an underground chess thriller.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hair-raiser.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair-raiser. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
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