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Antonyms for hair-trigger


Grammar : Adj
Spell : hair-trig-er
Phonetic Transcription : ˈhɛərˌtrɪg ər



Definition of hair-trigger

Origin :
  • 1830, originally a secondary trigger in a firearm which sprung free a mechanism (hair) which, when set, allowed the main trigger (n.) to be released by very slight force. Figurative use by 1841.
  • As in instantaneous : adj immediate
  • As in delicate : adj difficult, sticky (situation)
  • As in immediate : adj instantaneous; without delay
Example sentences :
  • It is self-love inflamed to the acute point; conceit, with a hair-trigger.
  • Extract from : « Pax Vobiscum » by Henry Drummond
  • It merely exploded him into action like a finger on a hair-trigger.
  • Extract from : « Theodore Roosevelt and His Times » by Harold Howland
  • I then got a new dog and chained him, and a duelling pistol, with a hair-trigger.
  • Extract from : « Urban Sketches » by Bret Harte
  • As he was not a thoroughbred, his nerves were not of the hair-trigger order.
  • Extract from : « Buff: A Collie and other dog-stories » by Albert Payson Terhune
  • Every nerve was at tension, each muscle set at hair-trigger.
  • Extract from : « Princeton Stories » by Jesse Lynch Williams
  • Them fellers air allus on a hair-trigger when a mortgage falls in.
  • Extract from : « The Terms of Surrender » by Louis Tracy
  • Revel's reflexes were still, if not hair-trigger, at least very quick.
  • Extract from : « The Buttoned Sky » by Geoff St. Reynard
  • Only the weight of the forefinger was needed to spring the hair-trigger.
  • Extract from : « Sergeant York And His People » by Sam Cowan
  • “My nerves are on a hair-trigger these days,” Martin apologized.
  • Extract from : « Martin Eden » by Jack London
  • I see you also have been doing some 'hair-trigger, steel-trap, cocksure jedgin'.'
  • Extract from : « Rolf In The Woods » by Ernest Thompson Seton

Synonyms for hair-trigger

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019