1
as in terrifying
causing fear
hair-raising stories of headless corpses and disembodied screams
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in breathtaking
causing great emotional or mental stimulation
a theme park that is legendary for its lightning-fast roller-coaster and other hair-raising rides
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hair-raising
His own pharmaceutical quest is nothing short of hair-raising.
—
Jerome Groopman, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025
Then into motorboats for hair-raising dashes through tortuous canals and across rough water to dams far back in some vast marsh.
—Nash Buckingham, Outdoor Life, 19 June 2025
The term hair-raising takes on new meaning as two performers contort their bodies high above the stage, connected only by their coiffures.
—Karen D'souza, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2025
Led by vocalist Christina Michelle’s hair-raising screams, Deep Sage mangles everything in its path with thick basslines and switchblade guitars until the floor is bloodied but the air, at long last, is cleansed.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
Oh, there are plenty of opportunity for that: Feliz says the season only gets more hair-raising from here.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2024
The reason this seems hair-raising is that most generative AI is devised to wait for the human to initiate a conversation.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Among them were experienced mountaineers accustomed to steep terrain where any fall could be fatal, and casual hikers who had never before attempted to climb anything as hair-raising.
—Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024
The players’ recounted exploits are at once hair-raising, nostalgic and moving.
—Drew Goins, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair-raising
Adjective
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Humans could suddenly step into a box, perhaps hear gears grind, and then exit the box on a different floor—and even as safety features were innovated, that was terrifying.—
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Madigan's character, the elderly aunt of several of the students, became a cult favorite, both terrifying and delighting audiences.—
Adjective
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Located in northern Spain, along the Bay of Biscay and between the popular cities of Bilbao and San Sebastián, the Urola Coast of Basque Country is a breathtaking stretch of shoreline.—
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In dozens of interviews in villages on Venezuela's breathtaking northeastern coast, from which some of the boats departed, residents and relatives said the dead men had indeed been running drugs but were not narco-terrorists or leaders of a cartel or gang.—
Adjective
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Experts immediately pointed out that Hassett had used a misleading method known as a cubic fit to make the mortality data appear less frightening.—
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When the sun went down, the Santa Anas began to blow, and the fire shifted into the familiar, frightening rhythm of inevitability.—
Adjective
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This season already has plenty of exciting acting talents to spot on the red carpets—including frontrunners such as Chase Infiniti, Renate Reinsve, and Rose Byrne.—
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Craft service had Cinnabons — that was exciting.—
Adjective
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The service Aside from a formidable restaurant and spa, the service sets this hotel apart from other country boutiques in Sicily.—
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The hardy parasite is also highly attuned to threats and responds with formidable defense mechanisms — prolonging a treatment process that’s already months to years long and often fraught with other hurdles and pain.—
Adjective
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The band might be thematically diving into the past, but their present is equally thrilling.—
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The stage is set for the medal games at the 2026 World Juniors following Sunday’s two excellent semifinals, highlighted by a thrilling Sweden-Finland overtime game that needed an eight-round shootout and the Czechs bouncing the Canadians for a third straight year in the elimination round.—
Adjective
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The only thing scarier to horror fans might just be Amy Madigan losing for Weapons.—
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Families will love Hiccup’s Wing Gliders in the Isle of Berk, a not-too-scary coaster that still delivers thrills.—
Adjective
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The Cowboys have mastered the art of entertaining and interesting better than any sports franchise in the world, but there is a redundancy that to the person who spends a lot of their money on it is justifiably checked out.—
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Seeing these guys unapologetically portrayed by an actor whose superpower is the audience is always with him was interesting.—
Cite this Entry
“Hair-raising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair-raising. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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