Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

raise someone's hackles

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.18 in modern English

Syllables: raise -some-one's hack-les
IPA

31

Scrabble Score

20

Letters

4

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To annoy or anger someone.

Example Sentences

"Every time I hear him talk, he just raises my hackles."
"Much as I admire Wilson’s tour de force—I wish people would read it more and read about it less—my hackles have always risen at the entirely false suggestion that his book influenced mine."
"Google announced its breakthrough in a paper published in the science journal Nature. And its claims have raised the hackles of researchers at competing companies who believe the Silicon Valley giant is inflating its accomplishment."
"View the film now and it’s not hard to see what raised the hackles of such groups."

Inflected Forms

raises someone's hackles (present, singular) raising someone's hackles (participle, present) raised someone's hackles (participle, past) raised someone's hackles (past)

Phrases

make someone's hair stand on end rub someone the wrong way

Frequently Paired Words

make someone's hair stand on end rub someone the wrong way

Synonyms

aggravate annoy nettle rankle ruffle sting burn someone's ass antagonize bother disgruntle botherate bug

Questions

What does raise someone's hackles mean?: To annoy or anger someone.

How to pronounce raise someone's hackles

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