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.
—
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
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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Grand Prize Bird Photos The Grand Prize Winner for the new Colombia and Chile category was awarded to this image of a blue-and-gray kingfisher flying out of the water, creating a splash around its wet body, shaggy crest, white collar and rufous belly.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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Larsa Pippen milled around the outskirts while Lindsay Lohan, in a silky slip dress and a shaggy cream coat, was spotted smiling and posing for photos with the brand's fashion director Tara Rudes Dann.—
Anika Reed,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Flowers of the Cristata group look like hairy brains.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
8 Sep. 2025
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The heist and rescue – followed by a zookeeper’s lesson about the hairy, multilegged creatures – gave me a new respect for the spiders and the keepers at the Cincinnati Zoo and a fascinating story to share with our readers.—
Terry DeMio,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Signature items include spare ribs lacquered with red char siu glaze and five-spice duck legs with silky, luxurious dark meat beneath a shatteringly crisp skin.—
Robert F. Moss,
Southern Living,
17 Sep. 2025
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The silky lotion protects with 10% zinc oxide, hydrates with jojoba seed and almond oils, and gets your skin ridiculously glowy with a rosy-beige tint.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bristly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bristly. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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