1
as in terrifying
causing fear
hair-raising stories of headless corpses and disembodied screams
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in breathtaking
causing great emotional or mental stimulation
a theme park that is legendary for its lightning-fast roller-coaster and other hair-raising rides
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of hair-raising
Still that does not mean the exercise won’t be hair-raising for the crew of Artemis II.
—
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
His own pharmaceutical quest is nothing short of hair-raising.
—Jerome Groopman, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025
Then into motorboats for hair-raising dashes through tortuous canals and across rough water to dams far back in some vast marsh.
—Nash Buckingham, Outdoor Life, 19 June 2025
The term hair-raising takes on new meaning as two performers contort their bodies high above the stage, connected only by their coiffures.
—Karen D'souza, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2025
Led by vocalist Christina Michelle’s hair-raising screams, Deep Sage mangles everything in its path with thick basslines and switchblade guitars until the floor is bloodied but the air, at long last, is cleansed.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
Oh, there are plenty of opportunity for that: Feliz says the season only gets more hair-raising from here.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2024
The reason this seems hair-raising is that most generative AI is devised to wait for the human to initiate a conversation.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
The drive had been hair-raising (though nothing compared to a later jaunt on Hiva Oa, where Gauguin is buried, during which our guide Heimata played a ukulele while skirting the edge of a cliff and steering with his knee).
—Peter Heller, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2024
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
His own pharmaceutical quest is nothing short of hair-raising.
—Jerome Groopman, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025
Then into motorboats for hair-raising dashes through tortuous canals and across rough water to dams far back in some vast marsh.
—Nash Buckingham, Outdoor Life, 19 June 2025
The term hair-raising takes on new meaning as two performers contort their bodies high above the stage, connected only by their coiffures.
—Karen D'souza, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2025
Led by vocalist Christina Michelle’s hair-raising screams, Deep Sage mangles everything in its path with thick basslines and switchblade guitars until the floor is bloodied but the air, at long last, is cleansed.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
Oh, there are plenty of opportunity for that: Feliz says the season only gets more hair-raising from here.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2024
The reason this seems hair-raising is that most generative AI is devised to wait for the human to initiate a conversation.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
The drive had been hair-raising (though nothing compared to a later jaunt on Hiva Oa, where Gauguin is buried, during which our guide Heimata played a ukulele while skirting the edge of a cliff and steering with his knee).
—Peter Heller, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair-raising
Adjective
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Lisa Piper stood on her back deck and took video of a terrifying scene that played out on the other side of frozen Union Lake as a funnel cloud formed and then dropped toward the ground Friday.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Lisa Piper stood on her back deck and took video of a terrifying scene that played out on the other side of frozen Union Lake as a funnel cloud formed and then dropped toward the ground.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
There are countless breathtaking routes to traverse, from Maui to Lanai, but one of the most iconic trails is a loop around the Diamond Head Crater in Oahu.—
Kristine Thomason,
Outside,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) company that emerged in 2026 as an existential threat to billions of market value, with each breathtaking new capability from its Claude model, is back with a warning about just how obsolete AI tools could make whole swathes of work.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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And for Slusser, born and raised as a Christian in Texas, just a year and a half living in Northern California had taken a frightening toll.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Protests that kind of were merging toward violence or at least frightening to our diplomats.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Kurt's key takeaways Security updates rarely feel exciting.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Houston should be one of the most exciting teams in the tournament, and that’s in large part because of Flemings.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Makes for a pretty formidable opponent, especially in your own division.—
Kevin Sherrington
Mar. 6,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
At 38-24 and a half-game ahead of the Lakers, star center Nikola Jokic’s squad is always formidable — and looking to avenge a loss to Redick’s team in their first matchup, 115-107 in a game Jokic didn’t play.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
All the while, Oh and Comer’s slow dance of antagonism crossed with infatuation is some of the most thrilling acting in recent television memory.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Mar. 2026
-
However, Paveletzke missed a floater with two seconds left that sent the game to a thrilling overtime.—
Brendan Marks,
New York Times,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
It’s been scary being a part of these franchises with big followings for such a long time.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Mar. 2026
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But John is, as established, too dense to be truly affected by any scary woman.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Indigenous Māori people once believed the boulders were gourds that washed ashore from an ancient canoe wreck, but the science behind it is just as interesting as the legend.—
Madeline Bilis,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
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Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson, an Alamosa Republican, said the vaccine bill was interesting enough to warrant consideration.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hair-raising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair-raising. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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