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

Others put up fences and prickly shrubbery to deter loiterers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And now there are circumstances to navigate that are pricklier than the actors’ five o’clock shadows.

Read more on Salon

The second Stanford was a colder, pricklier place that lived inside students’ minds.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“I have that cold, prickly feeling down the back of my neck. He cannot be far.”

Read more on Literature

Though the book centers on an adorable if prickly little girl, its intended audience is not children.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• complicated 
• knotty 
• nettlesome 
• ticklish 
• tricky