spiny

American  

[spahy-nee] / ˈspaɪ ni /

adjective

spinier, spiniest

1. abounding in or having spines; thorny, as a plant.

2. covered with or having sharp-pointed processes, as an animal.

3. in the form of a spine; resembling a spine; spinelike.

4. troublesome or difficult to handle; thorny.

   a spiny problem.

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spiny British  

/ ˈspaɪnɪ /

adjective

1. (of animals) having or covered with quills or spines

2. (of plants) covered with spines; thorny

3. troublesome to handle; puzzling

4. shaped like a spine

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Other Word Forms

• spininess
  noun
• nonspiny
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of spiny

First recorded in 1580–90; spine + -y ¹

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Explanation

Spiny things are prickly or barbed, like a porcupine or a cactus. You have to be careful when you pick up something spiny. There are many spiny plants and animals, including roses, fish with spiny fins, sea urchins, and hedgehogs. They're all spiny for the same reason—as a defense against predators. The barbs or thorns themselves are called spines, from the Latin spina, meaning "backbone" and also "thorn or prickle." You can also use spiny figuratively to describe something difficult to deal with: "It was a spiny problem indeed."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spiny spinier

Found only in Ecuador's Andes Mountains, its spiny armour helps protect it from eagle-eyed predators that can see through its disguise.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Acanthosaura syrax belongs to a group of agamid lizards known as mountain horned dragons, which are distinguished by the spiny crests that extend along the neck and back.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

They also found many arthropods -- a family that includes modern-day crabs and insects -- including spiny, stalk-eyed creatures called radiodonts which were the apex predator of the time.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

Covering four representative species—the great white, the sandbar, the small-spotted catshark and the spiny dogfish—Daniel C. Abel and Sophie A. Maycock deliver breadth without sacrificing depth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

So tall were the spiny thickets that the hobbits could walk upright under them, passing through long dry aisles carpeted with a deep prickly mould.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

But her spinier attributes emerge when her beauty idyll is crashed by a rowdy extended family of holidaymakers with various squealing children in tow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2021

Martin imagined when writing his "Song of Ice and Fire" books; that one is bigger and spinier.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2021

He’s surrounded by spinier, more surprising arrangements, too.

From The Verge ● Sep. 11, 2015

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