bristle up

Meanings

verbbristle up (third-person singular simple present bristles up, present participle bristling up, simple past and past participle bristled up)

present singular third person bristles up · participle present bristling up · participle past bristled up · past bristled up

intransitiveTo become bristly; to stand on end
Her hairs bristled up.
intransitiveTo become irate; to flare up
He bristled up when they made a joke about his heritage.

verbshow anger or indignation

Similar

bristle atbridle atbridle up

Broader

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

bristle up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bristle%20up

MLA

“bristle up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bristle%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bristle up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bristle%20up.