nettlesome
Americanadjective
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causing irritation, vexation, or annoyance.
to cope with a nettlesome situation.
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easily provoked or annoyed.
to become nettlesome over trivial matters.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of nettlesome
Vocabulary lists containing nettlesome
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
San Francisco Bay Area Democrat Eric Swalwell, a nettlesome foil and frequent target of President Trump and Republicans, on Thursday announced his bid for California governor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
Which brings us back to a constant theme in this column: the nettlesome issue of middlemen.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
But an equally nettlesome problem is a severe lack of mental health providers, particularly in rural America.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2022
But credit Mr. Clarke for squarely facing up to one of the more nettlesome problems facing the transit system, which was largely ignored by his predecessors: fare evasion.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2022
The flagon of mulled wine that Satin delivered helped them settle the more nettlesome points.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
