prickly

[prik-lee]

adjective

pricklier, prickliest 

1. full of or armed with prickles.

2. full of troublesome points.

   a prickly problem.

3. prickling; smarting.

   a prickly sensation.

prickly

/ ˈprɪklɪ /

adjective

1. having or covered with prickles

2. stinging or tingling

3. bad-tempered or irritable

4. full of difficulties; knotty

   a prickly problem

Other Word Forms

• prickliness noun
• unprickly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prickly¹

First recorded in 1570–80; prickle + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Like most prickly questions, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

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Holland, on the heels of his stellar turn in the underappreciated character study “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” can make you forget how little we know of Roger’s background, so magnetic is his prickly, awkward emotional confusion.

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In a genre obsessed with flashy gimmicks, Rodriguez sticks to the traditional corrido sound across 13 tracks, setting himself apart from the crowd with his raw vocals and prickly guitar style.

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Season 7, released in April, continued the show’s prickly use of digital avatars and machine learning as plot devices for stories about moviemaking, video games and even attending a funeral.

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Ramsey doesn’t spend much of the documentary trying to shut down her detractors, but does offer one prickly point when confronted with the fact that her work is less than scientific.

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Related Words

• complicated 
• knotty 
• nettlesome 
• ticklish 
• tricky