hair-trigger

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-trigger They’re staffed around the clock and kept on hair-trigger alert. Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 6 Aug. 2025 The real uncertainties in the bond market are lodged in the larger complexities and flammable preconditions resulting from highly leveraged speculative positions set to unwind on a hair-trigger. George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025 But does the Sandman still have the fire in him to play a hockey player turned golfer powered by his hair-trigger temper? A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 20 May 2025 Tina Fey in 30 Rock Ali Goldstein—NBC/NBCU Photo Bank Yet the hair-trigger sensitivities of audiences predisposed to judge Fey harshly have also fueled ridiculous backlashes. Judy Berman, Time, 1 May 2025 Both failed to fire, and the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, with a hair-trigger temper, began caning the would-be assassin. Barbara A. Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025 And though a restless, hair-trigger sort of mood has enveloped Madrid for much of the season, their campaign retains considerable promise. Rory Smith, The Athletic, 10 Feb. 2025 Microsoft has refined every aspect of this controller and added some great new additions like adjustable-tension thumbsticks, even shorter hair-trigger locks, USB-C, and Bluetooth connectivity. Quentyn Kennemer, The Verge, 19 Dec. 2024 Fortunately, there is a lot of physical stuff in ‘Planes, Trains’ and a lot that turns on a combination of sight gags and the comedians’ hair-trigger timing. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair-trigger
Adjective
  • Some people are hypersensitive, or sensory avoiders, and may be overwhelmed by sounds, bright lights, busy spaces and need calmer, more structured spaces.
    Nancy Doyle, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
  • For most of her life, Tracy struggled with being late, procrastination and being hypersensitive to criticism.
    Daliah Singer, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 July 2025
Adjective
  • Your eyes become supersensitive to sunlight: Some people with nr-axSpA will also have a condition called uveitis.
    Alice Oglethorpe, SELF, 18 July 2025
  • Across the world, dozens of supersensitive detectors have been installed since the beginning of the Cold War era to detect infrasound waves created by nuclear tests thousands of miles away.
    Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 12 May 2025
Adjective
  • Most commenters on the TSR post agreed that Yung Miami meant no disrespect and that Lizzo was being a little oversensitive.
    Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2025
  • The 8th and 9th are full of good energy, but everyone seems to be feeling oversensitive near the 13th.
    Katharine Merlin, Town & Country, 1 Sep. 2023
Adjective
  • Creating specific traffic scenarios in a multi-lane track setting requires precise choreography across other vehicles and even mock pedestrians.
    Richard Bishop, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Intelligence Gathering: Israeli operatives identified the bedrooms in which Iranian nuclear scientists were sleeping, enabling precise airstrikes.
    Yossi Melman, ProPublica, 7 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hair-trigger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair-trigger. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

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