thorny
Americanadjective
-
thornier,
comparative
-
thorniest
superlative
adjective
-
bearing or covered with thorns
-
difficult or unpleasant
a thorny problem
-
sharp
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of thorny
before 1000; Middle English; Old English thornig. See thorn, -y 1
Explanation
Thorny things are either sharp and spiky, like a thorny briar patch, or troublesome and difficult, like a thorny problem. Either way, they can be painful! When you tackle a thorny rosebush, you'll need thick gloves and sharp pruning shears. When you tackle a thorny issue at work or at school, on the other hand, you might need tools like diplomacy and intelligence. This figurative meaning of thorny is useful for describing especially complex or distressing issues, like a thorny political problem that divides a nation.
Vocabulary lists containing thorny
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 5
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Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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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.
See Examples For:
Brandtech landed on the idea that White & Case is good at solving thorny, cross-border, cross-sector issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
For administrations, this creates a thorny situation in which fraternity chapters remain associated with the universities—or at least, in physical proximity with them, and enrolling their students—even if they are not sanctioned by them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
But to do so overlooks the thrilling, genuinely thorny assertions contained in several of the season’s best films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
And there are other thorny cultural factors too.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
I squeezed nervously through the thorny door, ducking and holding in my stomach, and entered a long, twisty hallway made of woven branches still carrying leaves and flowers.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Those who trust these writers’ capabilities with using comic book properties as springboards to examine thornier issues can probably deduce that “Lanterns” is employing it for a specific reason.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
If an agreement as superficial as the memorandum of understanding — which deferred thornier issues for late negotiations — was derailed, then there’s little option other than repeated cycles of violence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The upticks follow the 60-day deal between the U.S. and Iran, and ongoing negotiations over the conflict’s thornier disputes.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
The negotiations are aimed at securing a minimal memorandum of understanding that would end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz while setting the stage for later talks on thornier issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Little Willie, in the tracts, scarcely dreamed of a thornier path of self-sacrifice.
From Old and New Masters by Robert Lynd
The chapter on fisheries, expected to be the thorniest as Iceland is intent on retaining control over its resources, had not been opened.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
Unions say the measure would give them needed leverage and remove political pressure from the thorniest contract questions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Check outthe Moneyist private Facebook group, where we look for answers to life’s thorniest money issues.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 14, 2026
“The only newsroom that I’m interested in running is one where we are able to have contentious disagreements about the thorniest editorial matters, and do so with respect,” Weiss said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
The Reagan had run afoul of nuclear power’s thorniest problem: radioactive isotopes.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
