US /ˈθɔɹni/ UK /ˈθɔːni/
adj Freq #31422

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    bristling with perplexities

    The thorny question of states' rights.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
Word family
Forms thornierthorniest
Derived forms thornilythorniness

Etymology

From Middle English thorny, þorny, þorni, from Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. By surface analysis, thorn + -y.

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