Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

hair-raising

[hair-rey-zing] / ˈhɛərˌreɪ zɪŋ /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“Mother Mary” is as hair-raising as it is eyebrow-raising, all spectral senselessness until, out of nowhere, the eeriness gives way to a startling profundity as the film explores remorse with biblical repercussions.

From Salon Apr. 24, 2026

Instead, he delivers his hair-raising message—that we’re staring at “a humiliating and bloody defeat” if we go to war with China—in a jaunty, clever and sometimes breathless book.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 16, 2026

For 15 hair-raising minutes, the pilots struggled to evade a half-dozen surface-to-air missiles, spraying countermeasures and executing a series of high-G maneuvers.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 26, 2026

Only Samantha Hale, raised in Los Angeles on “Top Ramen and fear,” could make hair-raising terror this funny.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 10, 2025

As for the children being proof of the value of Penelope’s education...well, the Incorrigibles’ best behavior was very good indeed, but their less-than-best could be positively hair-raising.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood




Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training