Synonyms for thorny
ˈθɔr nithorny

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thorny

   Synonyms:
   spiny, prickly, harassing, troublesome

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thornyadjective

   bristling with perplexities

   "the thorny question of states' rights"

   Synonyms:
   bristly, barbellate, bristled, barbed, briery, spiny, setaceous, prickly, briary, burred, setose, burry

   Antonyms:
   unarmed, easy

2. barbed, barbellate, briary, briery, bristled, bristly, burred, burry, prickly, setose, setaceous, spiny, thornyadjective

   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"

   Synonyms:
   briary, nipping, prickly, barbed, setose, waspish, mordacious, pungent, burred, spinous, bristly, barbellate, setaceous, briery, burry, biting, splenetic, spiny, bristled

   Antonyms:
   easy, unarmed

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thornyadjective

   Synonyms:
   spiny, spinose, spinous, prickly, briery

2. thornyadjective

   Synonyms:
   pricking, sharp, pointed

3. thornyadjective

   Synonyms:
   troublesome, vexatious, annoying, harassing, perplexing

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thornyadjective

   Synonyms:
   spiny, briery, prickly, vexatious, troublesome, annoying

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "thorny":

   barbed, spiny, delicate, tricky, intractable, difficult, knotty, sensitive, razor, contentious

How to pronounce thorny?

How to say thorny in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use thorny in a sentence?

1. Chris Dougherty:

   When the Russians try to fix one problem they caused themselves, another problem arises, you're trying to create a thorny knot of dilemmas so every time they try to do something that makes their life better, it actually makes their life worse.

2. John Boehner:

   I want members on both sides of the aisle to sit down, and let’s have a conversation about how to address what, frankly, has become a very thorny issue.

3. Liang Tieshan:

   Because the mechanisms and related policies for state-owned firms exiting the market are not complete, closing them will raise thorny problems like the settlement of debts.

4. Michel de Montaigne:

   Virtue craves a steep and thorny path.

5. Wendy Young:

   There are some really thorny legal questions that arise.