HAIR-RAISER Synonyms: 8 Similar and Opposite Words

hair-raiser

noun

ˈher-ˌrā-zər

Definition of hair-raiser

as in thriller

something (as a close contest) that induces much suspense as to its outcome since they had been dating for five years, her answer to his proposal wasn't exactly a hair-raiser

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hair-raiser For pregame prep, there’s a new documentary about the 2007 hair-raiser. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026 In Hokum, the Cork native transports viewers to Ireland’s remote and possibly haunted Bilberry Woods Hotel alongside prickly American author Ohm Baumann (Adam Scott) for a good ol' fashioned hair-raiser of a ghost story. — Megan McCluskey, Time, 4 May 2026 The streamer has a deep bench of horror films from all eras of cinema among its offerings, from influential classics like Nosferatu (1922) to newer hair-raisers like Possessor (2020), and all kinds of thrillers and chillers in between. — Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Jan. 2026 And the Halloween-eve hair-raiser adds a cackling skeleton to a horror arcade of ghoulish news for EVs. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hair-raiser

thriller

Noun

All three are crime drama-thrillers, the most exportable and ordered of program types, but all three reject tropes of the genre.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
In Aaron Sorkin’s new thriller, the fictional Haugen — who, like her nonfictional counterpart, leaks thousands of documents to Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz — habitually dons the accessories.

— Lauren Feiner, The Verge, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of thriller

Browse Nearby Words

hairpins

hair-raiser

hair-raisers

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“Hair-raiser.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hair-raiser. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hair-raiser

noun

Example Sentences

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