bridling

Verb

bridle (third-person singular simple present bridles, present participle bridling, simple past and past participle bridled)

1. (transitive) To put a bridle on.
   • He bridled her mouth with a silkweed twist.1835, Joseph Rodman Drake, The Culprit Fay
2. (transitive) To check, restrain, or control with, or as if with, a bridle; as in bridle your tongue.
   • Savoy and Nice, the keys of Italy, and the citadel in her hands to bridle Switzerland, are in that consolidation.1795–1797, Edmund Burke, “(please specify |letter=1 to 4)”, in [Letters on a Regicide Peace], London: [Rivington]
3. (intransitive) To show hostility or resentment.
   • Immigrant-rights and religious organizations bridled at the plan to favor highly skilled workers over relatives. (Houston Chronicle, 6/8/2007)
4. (intransitive) To hold up one's head proudly or affectedly.

See all 10 meanings of bridle