hair-raising

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hair-rais·ing

(hâr′rā′zĭng)

adj.

Causing excitement, terror, or thrills.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hair-raising

adj

inspiring horror; terrifying: a hair-raising drop of 600 feet.

ˈhair-ˌraiser n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hair′-rais`ing

adj.

terrifying or horrifying: a hair-raising encounter with death.

[1895–1900]

hair′-rais`ing•ly, adv.

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Adj.

hair-raising - extremely alarming

bloodcurdling, nightmarish

alarming - frightening because of an awareness of danger

hair-raising

adjective frightening, shocking, alarming, thrilling, exciting, terrifying, startling, horrifying, scary, breathtaking, creepy, petrifying, spine-chilling, bloodcurdling hair-raising rides at funfairs

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

hair-raising

adjective

Causing great horror:

bloodcurdling, horrible, horrid, horrific, terrific.

Translations

hair-raising

[ˈhɛəˌreɪzɪŋ] ADJ [story, adventure] → espeluznante

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

hair-raising

[ˈhɛəˌreɪzɪŋ] adj (story, adventure) → da far rizzare i capelli, terrificante

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

hair

(heə) noun

1. one of the mass of thread-like objects that grow from the skin. He brushed the dog's hairs off his jacket.

2. the mass of these, especially on a person's head. He's got brown hair.

-haired

having (a certain kind of) hair. a fair-haired girl.

ˈhairy adjective

covered in hair or having a lot of hair. a hairy chest.

ˈhairiness noun

ˈhair('s)-breadth noun

a very small distance. That knife missed me by a hair's-breadth.

ˈhairbrush noun

a brush for arranging and smoothing the hair.

ˈhaircut noun

the act or style of cutting a person's hair. Go and get a haircut.

ˈhair-do – plurals ˈhair-dos, ~ˈhair-do's – noun

a hairstyle. I like her new hair-do.

ˈhairdresser noun

a person who cuts, washes, styles etc a person's hair.

ˈhairdressing noun

ˈhair-drier noun

an electrical apparatus for drying hair by blowing hot air over it.

ˈhairline noun

the line along the forehead where the hair begins to grow.

ˈhair-oil noun

a scented, oily lotion for smoothing down the hair.

ˈhairpin noun

a bent wire for keeping a woman's hair in place.

adjective

(of a bend in a road) sharp and U-shaped, especially on a mountain or a hill.

ˈhair-raising adjective

terrifying. hair-raising stories.

ˈhairstyle noun

the result of cutting, styling etc a person's hair. a simple hairstyle.

keep one's hair on

to remain calm and not become angry.

let one's hair down

to behave in a free and relaxed manner.

make (someone's) hair stand on end

to terrify (a person).

(not to) turn a hair

to remain calm. He put his finger in the flame without turning a hair.

split hairs

to worry about unimportant details.

tear one's hair

to show great irritation or despair.

References in classic literature ?

The young blades would have it that none other than old Noah himself had come on board with the remnants of the Lost Tribes, and to elderly female passengers spun hair-raising accounts of the sinking of an entire tropic island by volcanic and earthquake action.

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It was a provoking, mocking peal, with a hair-raising, screeching over-note of defiance.

View in context

finally we have won an Oscar." Hopefully he won't inherit his father's flair for hair-raising language.

Ramsay's snippin' nightmare

A kind-hearted charity shop volunteer has had a hair-raising encounter to help raise money for a hospice's appeal.

Kind-hearted Alison braves the shave to help out hospice

But scientists believe that a very long time ago, when the human body was covered in a thicker coat of hair, having a "hair-raising experience" served two main purposes.

The Science of Goosebumps

There were many activity stations where participants could learn to code, build a Ping-Pong ball roller coaster, dig in the sand for fossils, make a marshmallow firing catapult, make a fossil, make a leaf rubbing, make a jumping jack, listen to your heart, perform a hair-raising experiment, make a soap powered boat, measure different things, and have lunch!

Fun with science STEM Fair held at Nokomis Library

have dropped a teaser trailer of 'The Conjuring' spinoff, 'The Nun', and it is disturbing and hair-raising.

'The Nun' teaser is unsettling

While it goes the predictable slasher-flick route-not a spoiler, since it's declared early on that Lena's mission goes terribly awry, and what we see are flashbacks-there are nicely concocted, hair-raising scenes.

Taut, tense 'Annihilation'

Jose's hair-raising gesture has so far raised PS845 for the family but more donations can be received at www.gofundme.com/jose-shaving-his-head-for-layla

Jose: My dreads are Quitongone; FOOTBALLER GETS CHOP TO HELP LAYLA, 3

Fundraisers did it all - from a biathlon to pyjama days at school, and finding some hair-raising ways to make money.

Chipping in and doing our bit for Children in Need

Summary: Get greeted by a sickly stench that fills the air and soundtrack of hair-raising screams

Spooktacularly Haunted Hotel to open in Dubai

A raised PS400 for a global children's charity by completing a hair-raising zipline across the River Tyne.