1
2
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
she dreaded having to deal with her prickly boss
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in difficult
requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling
a prickly issue that will outrage at least one special interest if not handled delicately
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prickly
As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Biden tried to smooth over rough patches between Carter and foreign leaders, particularly the prickly German chancellor.
—
Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY, 30 Dec. 2024
There’s appealing sweetness to his scenes with Ellis, and great comic energy to his scenes with the excellently prickly Estrada, a complete revelation in what is easily her highest profile role to date.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024
Cha-il’s prickly attitude doesn’t soften much despite the good example set by the naïve rookie auditor Han-soo (Lee Jung-ha).
—Simon Abrams, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024
Paul is Roy, the prickly guy whose sarcastic exterior hides a soppy desire to be loved.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prickly 
Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY, 30 Dec. 2024
There’s appealing sweetness to his scenes with Ellis, and great comic energy to his scenes with the excellently prickly Estrada, a complete revelation in what is easily her highest profile role to date.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024
Cha-il’s prickly attitude doesn’t soften much despite the good example set by the naïve rookie auditor Han-soo (Lee Jung-ha).
—Simon Abrams, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024
Paul is Roy, the prickly guy whose sarcastic exterior hides a soppy desire to be loved.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for prickly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prickly
Adjective
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Blakely’s performance is indicative of The Private Life’s problems — the attempt to pastiche and complexify the popular understanding of this literary relationship ends up re-creating its most irritating qualities.—
Rory Doherty,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
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Most irritating are the groan-worthy winks to the audience.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
25 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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By the end, Liverpool’s players seemed tired and Klopp was irritable, clearly in need of a rest.—
Simon Hughes,
The Athletic,
20 Jan. 2025
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The trio’s sixth record is charmingly irritable in both of its moods: hopped up on fluffy coffee while cracking baseball jokes, or dragging out downbeats and lamenting power structures to goad listeners with mounting anticipation.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Who exactly is going to be part of DOGE is a particularly thorny issue, because there are technically two DOGEs.—
Vittoria Elliott,
WIRED,
24 Jan. 2025
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Kevin Lamarque | Reuters As U.S. President Donald Trump looks to immediately fix his greatest political and economic bugbears, the thorny issue of NATO defense spending is likely to quickly return to the global fore.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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An aviation expert, along with the Army pilot, tells PEOPLE that Reagan National Airport can be especially difficult to fly into.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
People.com,
30 Jan. 2025
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Challenges of an Airline Pilot's Lifestyle Beyond the technical demands of the job, Wallach said the most difficult part of being a pilot was the lifestyle—particularly as a single parent.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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His signature style, influenced by guitar legends yet distinctly his own, combines fiery guitar solos with a dedication to thoughtful songwriting.—
SPIN Contributor,
SPIN,
4 Feb. 2025
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The fiery Drake takedown also vaulted him to third place on the list of rappers with the most Grammys — he’s taken home 22 trophies.—
Andre Gee,
Rolling Stone,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Two hours later, a second piece of the plane was pulled out –– a jagged portion of the fuselage not immediately identifiable.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN,
4 Feb. 2025
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For glam, the mom of three, 32, wore an old Hollywood-style bob with curls, brown-tone makeup and a long nails with jagged black French tips.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Unlike phishing campaigns targeting the entire workforce, red team exercises often involve precise objectives or trophies, such as gaining access to a critical system or sensitive data.—
Lauren Carpenter,
USA TODAY,
30 Jan. 2025
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Under the policy, ICE agents were permitted to enter sensitive locations, such as schools, churches, and hospitals, only under specific circumstances.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Other symptoms include a scratchy feeling in the eye and eye redness.—
Laura Schober,
Health,
29 Jan. 2025
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His output is alluded to in the film’s atmospheric credit sequence, in which a restless, scratchy charcoal pencil attacks white paper, the claustrophobia of which is intensified by the director’s intimate use of Academy ratio.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
25 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near prickly
Cite this Entry
“Prickly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prickly. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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