bristle

noun

1. A stiff or coarse hair on a nonhuman mammal or on a plant.

   “the bristles of a pig”

2. A chaeta: an analogous filament on arthropods, annelids, or other animals.
3. 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

1. (intransitive)To rise or stand erect, like bristles.

   “His hair began to bristle with anger when the subject was mentioned.”

   “The cat’s fur bristled when the dog approached.”

   “The soldier’s body would bristle with tension before a battle.”

   “His hair did bristle upon his head.”

   “He sat down with his elbows upon the desk, his gorilla hands clasped together, his beard bristling forward, and his big grey eyes, half-covered by his drooping lids, fixed benignly upon me.”

2. (intransitive, usually)To abound, to be covered with, or to have an abundance of, something, especially something jutting out.

   “the hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets”

   “ports bristling with thousands of masts”

   “Kieran Tierney did not want to risk a challenge on Pulisic, who darted on to the ball with far greater purpose, and the dink over Emi Martínez bristled with composure.”

3. (intransitive, usually)To be on one's guard or raise one's defenses; to react with fear, suspicion, or distance.

   “The employees bristled at the prospect of working through the holidays.”

   “Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty / Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest.”

   “Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.”

   “If only the industry could be honest and explain why it has been forced, owing to government policies, to increase fares over the quarter century since privatisation. Instead, it is defensive and clearly bristles with annoyance when someone merely states the facts.”

4. (archaic, obsolete, transitive)To make (something) rise or stand erect, like bristles.

   “The lion is let looſe inthe night, and the Earle hauing a night-gowne caſt ouer his ſhirt, with his girdle and ſword, and ſo comming downe the ſtaires into the court, meeteth with the lion briſtling his haire, and roaring.”

   “As for the Icnumon, hee hath but onely chāged his name;now called the Rat of Nilus.A beaſt particular to Ægypt,about the bigneſſe of a Cat, and as cleanly: ſnowted like a Ferret , but that blacke and without long haire,ſharpe tootht,round eard,ſhort legd,long taild (being thicke where it ioynes to the body,and ſpinie at the end)his haire ſharpe, hard,and branded, briſtling it vp when angry, and then will flye vpon a maſtiffe.”

   “As,when(at Cock-pit)two old Cocks doe fight, (Briſtling their Plumes,&(red with rage)do ſmite […]”

5. (transitive, uncommon)To cause (someone) to be on one's guard or raise one's defenses.

   “Your blatant attitude always bristles me.”

   “Mr. Berman, you know me well enough to know that I—and it just bristles me when I hear agriculture thrown into one lump basket, that we’re a bunch of crooks and treat our workers bad, because that is not the case. I have—I wish you could talk to some of my farm workers.”

   “I scowl. “Pretty sure women are not explicitly forbidden in my contract.” He lowers his voice. “No, but it’s good to be cautious when you're trying to rehab a public image.” Something about the comment bristles me. “Hey, it’s not my image. I’ve always been good.””

   “When we take on a new name, it can be hard for other people to get used to. […] But if someone new in my life calls me that old name, it bristles me. That’s not who I am.”

   “‘No. I don’t believe in wasting my money on crap like that.’ ‘It’s not your money, it’s mine.’ I can see the comment bristles him; he feels inadequate: his daughter is wealthier than he’s ever been.”

6. (rare)To fix a bristle or bristles to.

   “to bristle a thread”

   “For quotations using this term, see Citations:bristle.”

name

1. (humorous, slang)Bristol, England (in imitation of the local dialect)

   “Correct Way to Speak Bristol.”