thorny C2 Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈθɔɹni/ UK /ˈθɔːni/ See IPA manual Freq #31422 Meanings 1 adj bristling with perplexities The thorny question of states' rights. Thesaurus Synonyms knottythistly Word family Forms thornierthorniest Derived forms thornilythorniness Appears in Phrases (1) See all thorny question a problem or issue that is difficult to resolve Adjective + noun Etymology From Middle English thorny, þorny, þorni, from Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. By surface analysis, thorn + -y. thorny Middle English þorniġ Old English *þornag Proto-West Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # thorny **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈθɔɹni/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈθɔːni/ **Frequency rank:** 31422 ## Meanings 1. bristling with perplexities ## Examples - The thorny question of states' rights. ## Synonyms - knotty - thistly ## Derived Forms - thornily - thorniness ## Roots and Affixes - Root: thorny - Root: þorniġ - Root: *þornag ## Etymology From Middle English thorny, þorny, þorni, from Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. By surface analysis, thorn + -y. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown