thornier; thorniest
thorniness
noun
Examples of thorny in a Sentence
stay out of the thorny brambles unless you want a ton of scratches
Recent Examples on the Web
Get Ready For Human-Animal Hybrids New progress in stem-cell research raises some thorny ethical questions.
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JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
What is different from the Cold War is that thorny ideological and personal issues no longer make such challenges so hard to manage.
—Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2024
From team building to thorny decisions such as how much to bet, when to cut losses or how long to keep a winner running, there are plenty of ways to make or break a career.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 June 2024
In Nadler’s case, the situation is especially thorny.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for thorny 
JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024
What is different from the Cold War is that thorny ideological and personal issues no longer make such challenges so hard to manage.
—Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2024
From team building to thorny decisions such as how much to bet, when to cut losses or how long to keep a winner running, there are plenty of ways to make or break a career.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 June 2024
In Nadler’s case, the situation is especially thorny.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for thorny
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thorny.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near thorny
Cite this Entry
“Thorny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thorny. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
thorny
adjective
thornier; thorniest
1
: full of or covered with thorns
thorny rose bushes
2
: full of difficulties
a thorny problem
thorniness
noun
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