hair–raising

1 causing fear hair-raising stories of headless corpses and disembodied screams Synonyms alarming, dire, direful, dread, dreadful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, frightful, ghastly, hair-raising, horrendous, horrible, horrifying, intimidating, redoubtable, scary, shocking, spine-chilling, terrible, terrifyingRelated Words daunting, demoralizing, disconcerting, discouraging, dismaying, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, perturbing, startling, threatening, troubling, trying, unnerving; bone-chilling, creepy, eerie (also eery), weird; appalling, atrocious, awful, grisly, gruesome (also grewsome), hideous, horrid, macabre, monstrous, nightmarishNear Antonyms calming, comforting, consoling, inviting, lulling, pacifying, quieting, reassuring, relaxing, soothing, tranquilizing (also tranquillizing); nonintimidating, nonthreatening

2 causing great emotional or mental stimulation a theme park that is legendary for its lightning-fast roller-coaster and other hair-raising rides Synonyms breathtaking, charged, electric, electrifying, exhilarating, exhilarative, galvanic, galvanizing, hair-raising, heart-stopping, inspiring, intoxicating, kicky, mind-bending, mind-blowing, mind-boggling, rip-roaring, rousing, stimulating, stirring, thrillingRelated Words arresting, interesting, intriguing, provocative, tantalizing, titillating; absorbing, engrossing, gripping, riveting; moving, poignant, touching; enchanting, enthralling, fascinating, spellbinding; dynamic, energetic, high-voltage, kinetic, lively, lustyNear Antonyms boring, mind-numbing, tedious, tiresome; dreary, dull, humdrum, monotonous, uninterestingAntonyms unexciting