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.
Perhaps, some analysts suggested, it marked the demise of a nettlesome character whose usefulness — as a deniable military asset, international fixer and pro-Kremlin master of the media dark arts — had run its course.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2023
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
JetBlue was once a “scrappy opponent” and American’s most nettlesome competitor in New York.
From Washington Times • Sep. 26, 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
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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.