as in shaggy
covered with or as if with hair
although pigs look hairless, they're actually bristly creatures
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Recent Examples of bristly
Thirteen Lives reminds me of Ron Howard's Apollo 13 for its bristly character moments, people caught in extremis.
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Joshua Rothkopf, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2022
Hedgehogs are small mammals, known for their coats, which are covered with bristly spines.
—Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2021
Sandstrom’s most recent Squonk is a hairy, wart-covered monster with bristly, unkempt fur, fangs, and ears that curve down submissively.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 19 Apr. 2020
The authors dutifully report that each pappus, the bristly head of a seed, contains 100 rod-like filaments on average, each about 7.4 mm long and 16.3 μm thick.
—Bill Andrews, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2018
See All Example Sentences for bristly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bristly
Adjective
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Van Sant was impressed by Elwes’s preparation and physical transformation, with his shaggy hair and bushy beard.—
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To go with her new gal on the go lifestyle, she's chopped off her iconic perm in favor of a whimsical, shaggy pixie cut.—
Adjective
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Things became so hairy that Ghost City Tours, which hosted events featuring Annabelle, released a statement confirming that Annabelle had nothing to do with the fire.—
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In October, for his first collection as the designer of Jean Paul Gaultier, Duran Lantink put models in hairy trompe-l’œil-style catsuits, while Kim Kardashian — who last year first teased us with a Skims faux fur bikini — fully committed with a range of merkins in various shades and hair types.—
Adjective
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Gwyneth Paltrow whipped up her famous boyfriend-breakfast in a silky navy set, Kate Hudson sat for hair and makeup in a knitted turtleneck combo, and Demi Moore hung out with family in a gingham two-piece.—
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Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Concealer Of course, my breakouts don’t magically disappear, but the silky-smooth formula evens my skin tone and gives a blurring, Facetune-like effect IRL.—
Cite this Entry
“Bristly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristly. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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