1
as in terrifying
causing fear
hair-raising stories of headless corpses and disembodied screams
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2
as in breathtaking
causing great emotional or mental stimulation
a theme park that is legendary for its lightning-fast roller-coaster and other hair-raising rides
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Examples of hair-raising in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Among them were experienced mountaineers accustomed to steep terrain where any fall could be fatal, and casual hikers who had never before attempted to climb anything as hair-raising.
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Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024
The players’ recounted exploits are at once hair-raising, nostalgic and moving.
—Drew Goins, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
But Schlosser’s gifts as a storyteller lend his book a visceral quality, such that every successive accident or close call feels more hair-raising than the last.
—Gregory D. Koblentz, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2013
Formula 1: On and Off the Track Still a Thrill: Monaco’s narrow track hinders overtaking, but, oh boy, do those tight roads make qualifying hair-raising.
—Ian Parkes, New York Times, 23 May 2024
The going was beautiful but slow and a little hair-raising as day turned to night.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The drive had been hair-raising (though nothing compared to a later jaunt on Hiva Oa, where Gauguin is buried, during which our guide Heimata played a ukulele while skirting the edge of a cliff and steering with his knee).
—Peter Heller, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2024
With Arm China accounting for a quarter of Arm’s revenue, that’s a little hair-raising, particularly as the Biden administration continues to use AI chips as a cudgel in the China relationship.
—Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 25 Aug. 2023
At the other end of the Bible, Wright, having so neatly delineated the wars between the north, which was centered on Samaria, and the south, which was centered on Jerusalem, makes our encounter with the southern fable of the Good Samaritan suddenly hair-raising.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024
The players’ recounted exploits are at once hair-raising, nostalgic and moving.
—Drew Goins, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
But Schlosser’s gifts as a storyteller lend his book a visceral quality, such that every successive accident or close call feels more hair-raising than the last.
—Gregory D. Koblentz, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2013
Formula 1: On and Off the Track Still a Thrill: Monaco’s narrow track hinders overtaking, but, oh boy, do those tight roads make qualifying hair-raising.
—Ian Parkes, New York Times, 23 May 2024
The going was beautiful but slow and a little hair-raising as day turned to night.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The drive had been hair-raising (though nothing compared to a later jaunt on Hiva Oa, where Gauguin is buried, during which our guide Heimata played a ukulele while skirting the edge of a cliff and steering with his knee).
—Peter Heller, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2024
With Arm China accounting for a quarter of Arm’s revenue, that’s a little hair-raising, particularly as the Biden administration continues to use AI chips as a cudgel in the China relationship.
—Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 25 Aug. 2023
At the other end of the Bible, Wright, having so neatly delineated the wars between the north, which was centered on Samaria, and the south, which was centered on Jerusalem, makes our encounter with the southern fable of the Good Samaritan suddenly hair-raising.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hair-raising.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Hair-raising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair-raising. Accessed 18 Sep. 2024.
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