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How to spell bristle

hear itbris·tle/'brɪsəl/verbSilent and tricky

What it means: To stand up in response to fear.

In a sentence: The little hedgehog began to bristle when it felt scared.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as brissle or bristel.

Same family: bristled, bristling, bristly, bristles, bristle with. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Bristle” comes from Old English *byrst* meaning a short stiff hair, and originally referred to the stiff hairs on an animal’s back. Over time, English speakers started using it metaphorically for people who ‘stand on end’ with anger or fear, so now we can say someone ‘bristles’ at an insult.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

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