thorny

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Related to thornier: thorniest

thorn·y

(thôr′nē)

adj. thorn·i·er, thorn·i·est

1. Having many thorns or abounding in thorn-covered vegetation: thorny shrubs; a thorny landscape.

2. Spiny or prickly.

3. Controversial, problematic, or vexatious: avoided discussing thorny issues during the meeting.

thorn′i·ly adv.

thorn′i·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

thorny

(ˈθɔːnɪ)

adj, thornier or thorniest

1. (Botany) bearing or covered with thorns

2. difficult or unpleasant: a thorny problem.

3. sharp

ˈthornily adv

ˈthorniness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

thorn•y

(ˈθɔr ni)

adj. i•er, i•est.

1. full of or characterized by thorns; prickly.

2. thornlike.

3. painful; vexatious: a thorny predicament.

4. full of difficulties, complexities, or controversial points: a thorny question.

[before 1000]

thorn′i•ly, adv.

thorn′i•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	thorny - bristling with perplexities; "the thorny question of states' rights" difficult, hard - not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"
	2.	thorny - having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.; "a horse with a short bristly mane"; "bristly shrubs"; "burred fruits"; "setaceous whiskers" barbellate, briary, briery, bristled, burred, burry, setaceous, setose, spiny, prickly, bristly, barbed armed - (used of plants and animals) furnished with bristles and thorns

thorny

adjective

1. prickly, spiky, spiny, pointed, sharp, barbed, bristly, spinous, bristling with thorns thorny hawthorn trees

2. troublesome, difficult, problematic(al), trying, hard, worrying, tough, upsetting, awkward, unpleasant, sticky (informal), harassing, irksome, ticklish, vexatious the thorny issue of immigration policy

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

thorny

adjective

1. Full of sharp needlelike protuberances:

briery, echinate, prickly, pricky, spiny, thistly.

2. So replete with interlocking points and complications as to be painfully irritating:

nettlesome, prickly, spiny.

Translations

شائِكصَعْب، عَويص، شائِك

palčivýtrnitý

vanskelig

erfiîuròyrnóttur

pálčivýtŕni tý

belâlıdikenligüçlüklerle dolu

多刺的棘手的

thorny

[ˈθɔːnɪ] ADJ (thornier (compar) (thorniest (superl))) (lit, fig) → espinoso

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

thorny

[ˈθɔː^rni] adj

[plant, tree] → épineux/euse

[problem, issue] → épineux/euse

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

thorny

adj (+er) (lit) → dornig, dornenreich; (fig) → haarig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

thorny

[ˈθɔːnɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) → irto/a di spine (fig) (tricky) → spinoso/a, scabroso/a

thorn

(θoːn) noun

a hard, sharp point sticking out from the stem of certain plants. She pricked her finger on a thorn.

ˈthorny adjective

1. full of or covered with thorns. a thorny branch.

2. difficult, causing trouble etc. a thorny problem.

References in periodicals archive ?

However intended, the exchanges left uncertain ahead of the 2020 election whether Trump and the Democrats will be able to work together on serious, must-pass tasks, such as funding the government and raising the federal borrowing limit, let alone thornier issues such as immigration, national security and more.

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The idea that Archer will make the cut is fast becoming unanimous, even after just 16 overs in an England shirt, but the thornier issue is who he might replace.

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Concerns have grown among top US lawmakers that President Donald Trump will settle for a deal that steps up Chinese purchases of US goods without solving the thornier issues like Chinese state support for firms and an unfair playing field for foreign companies.

US businesses in China see gloomy year ahead

Wilson noted, personal jurisdiction issues could bypass the "thornier aspects" of the case.

Jurisdiction issues abound in wrongful-death suit

And then there are the thornier issues such as staid show formats, the false need for vendors to participate in nearly every regional market (is it really necessary to see the same rug--or furniture or lighting--line in Atlanta, Dallas and Vegas?) to simply an excess of shows.

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After the two sides agreed to exchange 15,000 prisoners, the consultations revolve around thornier issues such as the status of Hodeida and the reopening of Sanaa airport.

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The thorny issue of whistleblower retaliation may be getting thornier.

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However complex economics is, politics can be thornier still.

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The next part of the exhibit moves to the more recent - and perhaps thornier - past: firearms of the 'priest killer' Norberto Manero, news clippings about deadly tribal wars, and laws that dispossessed the Moros of their land and civil rights.

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They are also in no rush to plan ahead for some of retirement's thornier issues, including how they will pay for routine medical expenses, when to start receiving Social Security, and what they will do about long-term care or assisted living.

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But who deserves the blame for the sullying is a thornier question, one whose convoluted trip through the legal system landed before the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Wednesday.

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The Yorkshireman's charm offensive included a gag about the grim weather forecast too, before he had to get on to the thornier topic of Ben Stokes' absence.