bristle

Meanings

Plural: bristles

Noun

• a stiff fiber (coarse hair or filament); natural or synthetic
• a stiff hair
• A stiff or coarse hair, usually and especially on a nonhuman mammal.
• A chaeta: an analogous filament on arthropods, annelids, or other animals.
• The hairs or other filaments that make up a brush, broom, or similar item, typically made from plant cellulose, animal hairs, or synthetic polymers.

Verb

• be in a state of movement or action
  • "The garden bristled with toddlers"
• rise up as in fear
  • "The dog's fur bristled"
• have or be thickly covered with or as if with bristles
• react in an offended or angry manner
  • "He bristled at her suggestion that he should teach her how to use the program"
• To rise or stand erect, like bristles.
• To abound, to be covered with, or to have an abundance of, something, especially something jutting out.
• To be on one's guard or raise one's defenses; to react with fear, suspicion, or distance.
• To make (something) rise or stand erect, like bristles.
• To cause (someone) to be on one's guard or raise one's defenses.
• To fix a bristle or bristles to.

Synonyms

abound, burst, stand up, uprise