Hackles – Hair or feathers on the back of an animal's neck that rise when they are angry or alarmed

(Pronounced hak-uhls)

To remember the definition of the word hackles, use the following mnemonic:

She would hack as she culls (hackles): the hair on the back of the animal's necks rose in alarm each time she approached to cull them.

Examples of hackles in a sentence

The cat's hackles stood on end as the dog ran into the room.

As the tiger prowled towards the viewing window, you could see it's hackles rise.

You could see things were going to get aggressive as both animal's hackles raised and they started growling.