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as in difficult
requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling
the candidate tried to avoid discussing his views on the thorny issue
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thorny
The thorny question is often referred to as the human ceiling assumption.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
Battle damage assessment remained a thorny problem decades later, even after radical improvements in surveillance technology.
—Joshua Rovner, The Conversation, 2 July 2025
On a subconscious level, music was a way for her to be understood — a tool to translate the emotions that were too thorny, too big to communicate in regular conversation.
—Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
The Medicaid issue has been a thorny one for the GOP, dividing the party.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for thorny
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
Battle damage assessment remained a thorny problem decades later, even after radical improvements in surveillance technology.
—Joshua Rovner, The Conversation, 2 July 2025
On a subconscious level, music was a way for her to be understood — a tool to translate the emotions that were too thorny, too big to communicate in regular conversation.
—Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
The Medicaid issue has been a thorny one for the GOP, dividing the party.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for thorny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thorny
Adjective
-
The vastness of the canyon, with its jagged edges and rushing rivers.—
Shelby Slade,
AZCentral.com,
16 July 2025
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Major stock indexes continued their jagged descent downward in morning trading Tuesday after tumbling Monday.—
Tobias Burns,
The Hill,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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Some students may face family challenges that affect their ability to get to school, and some changes to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test, such as its move to online instead of paper form, could be difficult for students who only access computers at school, Maldonado said.—
Keri Heath,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Diseases that are difficult to manage without early intervention, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer, place a significant burden on health care budgets and patient quality of life.—
Kim Praitano,
Sun Sentinel,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Head coach Sean Payton was predictably prickly about any notion of contract discussions.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
23 July 2025
-
In response to this ambition, a countermovement has arisen, a prickly resistance to the idea of removing creativity from human hands.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
16 July 2025
Adjective
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Lamont, who had proposed boosting special education aid by $40 million — but not until July 2026 — countered that the state budget already was on pace to exceed the budget cap and that legislators needed to make tough choices and trim spending.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
2 Aug. 2025
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Stage eight on Saturday will mark the start of a tough weekend of reckoning for the GC riders in the mountains to conclude the Tour.—
Jessica Hopkins,
New York Times,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The effects can be felt right away, says the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), with symptoms including a scratchy throat, coughing, trouble breathing, and chest pain.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
2 Aug. 2025
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Digital techniques could clean up the scratchy sound of great performances from the nineteen-twenties and thirties, putting record companies sometimes in competition with their own backlists.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
20 July 2025
Adjective
-
Businesses cannot process sensitive data without obtaining consumer consent.—
Karoline Leonard,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
-
There are some intense scenes During The Fantastic Four: First Steps, there are some intense scenes that may not be suitable for younger (or more sensitive) viewers.—
Jordana Comiter,
People.com,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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True resource guarding is a serious issue that often involves strong warning signals from the dog—and can be problematic if left unaddressed.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 July 2025
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These are problematic, to say the least, as an exploit of the same could lead to the possibility of arbitrary code execution within the browser.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Ike Howard’s journey to the Oilers roster is a little more complicated.—
Allan Mitchell,
New York Times,
1 Aug. 2025
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Terminology, however, is insufficient: the Promising Young Woman is messier and more complicated than the rape revenge subgenre or tales of women done wrong, a pastiche of contradictions that further mucks up Northrop Frye’s distinct archetypal schema and heightens its own significance.—
Meg Pillow
July 31,
Literary Hub,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thorny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thorny. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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