as in thriller
something (as a close contest) that induces much suspense as to its outcome
since they had been dating for five years, her answer to his proposal wasn't exactly a hair-raiser
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Recent Examples of hair-raiser
And the Halloween-eve hair-raiser adds a cackling skeleton to a horror arcade of ghoulish news for EVs.
—
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2023
Shawn Tully, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair-raiser
thriller
Noun
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As forThe Better Mother, van der Kleut hopes to attract readers of beloved thrillers — including everything from classics like Agatha Christie novels to modern stories like this summer's Don't Open Your Eyes.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
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During the film’s trailer reveal at CinemaCon earlier this year, Feig expressed the importance of making a dark psychological thriller for the big screen.—
Leia Mendoza,
Variety,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hair-raiser.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair-raiser. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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