Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having bristles; hence, stiffly bearded: as, “bristled lips,”
  • In heraldry, having bristles on the neck and back: said specifically of a boar used as a bearing.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Simple past tense and past participle of bristle.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Tomlin bristled when reminded of that comment during last weekend's minicamp.

    Pittsburgh Steelers Team Report 2010

  • Now, though, the name bristled with accent marks, thus: Gédéon Goré.

    Gigolo Edna Ferber 1926

  • Every word bristled with a new meaning, and, becoming deeply interested after reading the last two verses of Matthew, he began the book of Mark and did not leave it until he reached the end.

    Katherine's Sheaves Mrs. Georgie Sheldon 1884

  • This much, Jerry, with his head becoming more and more spiky as the law terms bristled it, made out with huge satisfaction, and so arrived circuitously at the understanding that the aforesaid, and over and over again aforesaid, Charles Darnay, stood there before him upon his trial; that the jury were swearing in; and that Mr. Attorney-General was making ready to speak.

    A Tale of Two Cities 1859

  • This much, Jerry, with his head becoming more and more spiky as the law terms bristled it, made out with huge satisfaction, and so arrived circuitously at the understanding that the aforesaid, and over and over again aforesaid, Charles Darnay, stood there before him upon his trial; that the jury were swearing in; and that

    A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens 1841

  • I disagreed with something…kind of bristled at how something was characterized and was piled on.

    Scott Brown Posed in Cosmo’s Center-Fold 28 Years Ago — And So What? - Dan_Perrin’s blog - RedState 2010

  • As CNN's Jeff Greenfield would note later in the same debate, Mr. Gore "bristled" when Ms. Edward's put the question to him.

    Will Obama Stand Up for These Kids? 2009

  • At a press conference last week, a group of defense lawyers who practice in Madison County, Illinois, reportedly "bristled" at the description of Madison County as a "judicial hellhole."

    Tort "Reform" 2 2007

  • They kind of bristled at the thought she might be the voice of the Republican Party in the future.

    CNN Transcript Nov 12, 2008 2008

  • The finest and fairest skin is a kind of bristled network, the openings of which are incomparably larger than the threads, and enclose an infinite number of minute hairs.

    A Philosophical Dictionary 2007

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