thorny

1 of 2

adjective

ˈthȯr-nē How to pronounce thorny (audio)
thornier; thorniest
Synonyms of thornynext
1
: full of thorns
2
: full of difficulties or controversial points : ticklish
a thorny problem
thorniness noun

thorniness

2 of 2

noun

thorn·​i·​ness
-nēnə̇s, 
-nin-
plural -es
: the quality or state of being thorny

Synonyms of thorny

Relevance

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of thorny in a Sentence

Adjective stay out of the thorny brambles unless you want a ton of scratches
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
The thorny issue of AI will of course be debated with Adriana Ramírez of Megatrax leading the discussion. — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 13 July 2026 An untested 2024 law raises thorny questions about when any special election would occur, inviting potential court battles even as Republicans back Andy Barr and Democrats rally behind Charles Booker for 2027. — Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026 The package depicts the usual impenetrable forest of the GAS packaging in stark, thorny monochrome. — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 7 July 2026 And there are still subtle signs of a shift on the thorny issues around Israel within the caucus, after the liberal organization J Street endorsed Jeffries and his leadership team for the first time this Congress. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for thorny

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of thorny was before the 12th century

Rhymes for thorny

See All Rhymes for thorny

Browse Nearby Words

thorn tree
thorny
thorny acacia
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thorny.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thorny. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

thorny

adjective
ˈthȯr-nē How to pronounce thorny (audio)
thornier; thorniest
1
: full of or covered with thorns
thorny rose bushes
2
: full of difficulties
a thorny problem
thorniness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on thorny

Nglish: Translation of thorny for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All