thorny

thorny
adj
1. prickly, brambly, briery; bristly, Bot. strigose, Zool. barbellate, setigerous, setaceous, setose; spiny, spinous, spinulose, acanthoid, like a porcupine, thistlelike, aciculate; spiky, barbed, Bot., Zool. muricate, spiculate.
2. thornlike, pointed, pointy, sharp, piercing.
3. painful, trying, difficult, hard, tough, rough, arduous; troublesome, bothersome, annoying, irritating, vexatious, irksome, nettlesome.
4. entangled, tangled, complicated, complex, intricate, involved, knotty; controversial, touchy, delicate, ticklish, critical.

A Note on the Style of the synonym finder. 2014.

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  • Thorny — Thorn y, a. [Compar. {Thornier}; superl. {Thorniest}.] [Cf. AS. [thorn]orniht.] 1. Full of thorns or spines; rough with thorns; spiny; as, a thorny wood; a thorny tree; a thorny crown. [1913 Webster] 2. Like a thorn or thorns; hence, figuratively …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • thorny — [thôr′nē] adj. thornier, thorniest 1. full of thorns; brambly; prickly 2. having thorns or spines: said of some animals 3. like a thorn; sharp 4. full of obstacles, vexations, pain, etc. [the thorny road to peace] 5. full of controversial points …   English World dictionary

  • thorny — [adj1] sharp, pointed barbed, briery, bristling, bristly, prickly, spiked, spiky, spinous, spiny, stinging, thistly; concept 485 Ant. dull, smooth, unpointed thorny [adj2] difficult, problematic awkward, baffling, bothersome, formidable,… …   New thesaurus

  • thorny — index impracticable, precarious Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • thorny — O.E. þornig; see THORN (Cf. thorn) + Y (Cf. y) (2). Figurative sense is attested from mid 14c …   Etymology dictionary

  • thorny — ► ADJECTIVE (thornier, thorniest) 1) having many thorns or thorn bushes. 2) causing distress, difficulty, or trouble …   English terms dictionary

  • thorny — [[t]θɔ͟ː(r)ni[/t]] thornier, thorniest 1) ADJ: usu ADJ n A thorny plant or tree is covered with thorns. ...thorny hawthorn trees. 2) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n If you describe a problem as thorny, you mean that it is very complicated and difficult to… …   English dictionary

  • thorny — UK [ˈθɔː(r)nɪ] / US [ˈθɔrnɪ] adjective Word forms thorny : adjective thorny comparative thornier superlative thorniest 1) a thorny issue, problem, subject etc is one that is difficult to deal with the thorny issue of land ownership Now we come to …   English dictionary

  • thorny — thorn|y [ˈθo:ni US ˈθo:rni] adj 1.) a thorny question/problem/issue etc a question etc that is complicated and difficult ▪ the thorny question of immigration policy 2.) a thorny bush, plant etc has thorns >thorniness n [U] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • thorny — thorn|y [ θɔrni ] adjective 1. ) a thorny issue, problem, subject, etc. is one that is difficult to deal with: the thorny issue of land ownership Now we come to the thorny question of cost. 2. ) covered with thorns …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • thorny — adjective 1 thorny question/problem/point/issue a question etc that is complicated and difficult: The thorny question of redundancies will have to be tackled sooner or later. 2 a thorny bush, plant etc has thorns thorniness noun (U) …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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