bristly

[ bris-lee ]

adjective

, bris·tli·er, bris·tli·est.

1. covered or rough with bristles.
2. like or resembling bristles.
3. easily antagonized; irascible:

   a bristly person with few friends.

Other Words From

• bristli·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bristly¹

First recorded in 1585–95; bristle + -y ¹

Example Sentences

The other carried a bristly stick, with which they used to scratch the cephalopods’ sensitive skin.

From Los Angeles Times

The observed species are classified as baleen whales, which have a large bristly whalebone at the front of their mouth to filter feed, instead of teeth.

From BBC

Lit by a headlamp, the hamster-size bat has a tuft of bristly hair under its nose and tiny eyes tucked close to its ears.

From Science Magazine

This trap contained two fully grown, rotund adults, two balls of bristly fur that had merged into what one member of the trapping team called a single “big squish.”

From New York Times

What has tusks, bristly hair, and is contaminated with dangerous levels of radiation?

From Science Magazine