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Definition of "bristly" [bris•tly]

  • Consisting of or similar to bristles. (adjective)
  • Thick with bristles. (adjective)
  • Exhibiting or tending to exhibit agitation or anger: a bristly exchange between lawyers. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "bristly" in a sentence
  • "It was a startling assembly, not the least because with a few faintly yellow exceptions, the vroqupii were clad in short, bristly, rose-hued fur."
  • "As he makes the rounds at the zoo, Svitalsky stops to tweak a bristly, football-size ear, provoking a snort of delight from Nasima, the world's only breeding female rhino in captivity."
  • "National Action Party in 1994, he has been known as a bristly, cigar-chomping wheeler-dealer who seldom commented on, or acknowledged the existence of, Mexico's poor."