adjective
- Bristling with perplexities.
- usage: "the thorny question of states' rights"
- Having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc..
- usage: "a horse with a short bristly mane"; "bristly shrubs"; "burred fruits"; "setaceous whiskers"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). Thorny. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/thorny/definitions/1185344 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "Thorny" http://smartdefine.org/thorny/definitions/1185344 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, Thorny, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/thorny/definitions/1185344>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "Thorny" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/thorny/definitions/1185344> |