How to Use spiny in a Sentence

spiny

adjective
  • Turn the lobster tail over and cut the spiny membrane in the back.
    Elizabeth Karmel, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022
  • Got kids that can’t be trusted so close to sharp and spiny plants?
    Outside Online, 1 Apr. 2021
  • Their spiny tails are no barbed defense, but a prop to right themselves in the waves.
    Tim Prudente, baltimoresun.com, 31 Dec. 2020
  • A lot of them were extra plump, too, like the spiny larvae of the dagger moth.
    Benji Jones, Vox, 6 May 2024
  • On the west, the desert garden features aloes and spiny cacti.
    John King, SFChronicle.com, 26 Aug. 2019
  • Using kitchen shears, cut the spiny tips off the artichoke leaves and rub all the cut edges with lemon.
    Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 13 May 2024
  • The chemical was first found in the spiny dogfish, or Squalus acanthias, in 1993 and named for it.
    Douglas Main, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2011
  • Aruban cooks add a spiny, light green cucumber, called concomber, to the stew at the same time as the potatoes.
    Roger Sands, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
  • In the center of one room was a display of spiny king crabs, sea stars, and translucent spot prawns, denizens of the twilight zone.
    Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022
  • Pitch your tent or park your RV amid the park's signature boulders and spiny plants.
    Maya Kachroo-Levine, Travel + Leisure, 17 Apr. 2023
  • Inside, the team found a small, coral-colored figurine of a llama made from the shell of a rare spiny oyster.
    Claire Bugos, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Aug. 2020
  • Leaves are thick and leathery, 2 to 3 inches wide with spiny margins.
    Karen Dardick, sandiegouniontribune.com, 17 May 2018
  • Osteoderms on spiny mice have been observed since the mid-1970s.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 24 May 2023
  • His field hands pulled the season’s last remaining fruit from the spiny branches above.
    New York Times, 21 Nov. 2021
  • Or how the trees burst with white surrender-flag-flowers, only to give way to spiny, bright green husks.
    Lisa Donovan, Bon Appétit, 14 Mar. 2023
  • Wednesday and at events such as BugFest in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, people couldn’t wait to get in the water and dive for spiny lobsters.
    Chris Perkins, sun-sentinel.com, 27 July 2021
  • African spiny mice are small to medium sized rodents with spiny hairs on their upper body, large eyes and ears, and scaly tails.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 24 May 2023
  • Smooth and spiny dogfish look almost identical save for the namesake spikes on the back of the spiny dogfish.
    Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 26 July 2023
  • But how could all these species, many of which evolved separately over the course of millions of years, come to have the same spiny feature?
    Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 1 Aug. 2024
  • One was photographed in an aquarium eating a spiny dog fish, a shark that can reach four feet long.
    Mark Graves | , oregonlive, 23 June 2023
  • Like the spiny cone, their chemistry is a defense against predation.
    New York Times, 25 Aug. 2021
  • Scaly, spiny and snaggletoothed, soaring through the sky on leathery wings.
    Soren Andersen, The Seattle Times, 20 Feb. 2019
  • According to the authors of the study, the spiny species takes its name from the Huichol, an indigenous tribe that resides in the same region.
    Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2022
  • The beetle is black with white spots and has long spiny antenna, inspiring its name, of the same colors.
    Sarah Bowman, Indianapolis Star, 17 Aug. 2017
  • The spiny structure was meant to deter predators’ grazing.
    New York Times, 25 Aug. 2021
  • The spiny water flea was first identified in North American in 1984 in Lake Huron.
    Popular Science, 17 Feb. 2021
  • Unlike red urchins, the spiny purple urchins are no one’s idea of a favorite meal, whether human or otter.
    Washington Post, 18 May 2018
  • Sample the spiny Caribbean lobster, simply grilled on a hot flame, and dig your toes into the sand.
    Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2017
  • The spiny bush viper is an incredibly venomous snake that can be found nestled in the flowers of trees in the forests of Central Africa.
    Donna Sarkar, Discover Magazine, 27 Oct. 2022
  • Bythotrephes, a water flea with a long, spiny tail, eats other zooplankton and competes with fish for food.
    Jason Treat, Magazine, 17 Nov. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spiny.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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