v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bristled p. pr. & vb. n. Bristling ] 1. To erect the bristles of; to cause to stand up, as the bristles of an angry hog; -- sometimes with up. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty
Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Boy, bristle thy courage up. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fix a bristle to; as, to bristle a thread. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To rise or stand erect, like bristles. [ 1913 Webster ]

His hair did bristle upon his head. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To appear as if covered with bristles; to have standing, thick and erect, like bristles. [ 1913 Webster ]

The hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ports bristling with thousands of masts. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To show defiance or indignation. [ 1913 Webster ]

To bristle up, to show anger or defiance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. bristel, brustel, AS. bristl, byrst; akin to D. borstel, OHG. burst, G. borste, Icel. burst, Sw. borst, and to Skr. bh&rsdot_;shti edge, point, and prob, L. fastigium extremity, Gr. 'a`flaston stern of a ship, and E. brush, burr, perh. to brad. √96. ] 1. A short, stiff, coarse hair, as on the back of swine. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) A stiff, sharp, roundish hair. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. grasses of grasslands and woodlands having large gracefully arching spikes with long bristles beneath each spikelet.
Syn. -- bristle grass. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. resembling a bristle in stiffness.
Syn. -- bristly. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. (Bot.) Terminating in a very fine, sharp point, as some leaves. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Resembling a bristle in form; as, a bristle-shaped leaf. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) An insect of the genera Lepisma, Campodea, etc., belonging to the Thysanura. [ 1913 Webster ]