Definition of
Bristly
- (adj, all) having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.
bristly shrubs
burred fruits
setaceous whiskers - (adj, all) very irritable
he became prickly and spiteful
witty and waspish about his colleagues
- (adj, all) having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.
via WordNet, Princeton University
Synonyms of Bristly
barbed, barbellate, briary, briery, bristled, burred, burry, prickly, setaceous, setose, spiny, splenetic, thorny, waspish
Alternate forms of Bristly
Derivations: bristle, bristliness
Origin of the word Bristly
- 1590s, from bristle + -y (2). Figurative sense is recorded from 1872. more
via Online Etymology Dictionary, ©2001 Douglas Harper