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
Fifteen years of separation led them to grow even further apart, though, and a once-symbiotic relationship has evolved into something considerably more prickly.
—
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 30 Aug. 2025
Hundreds of pages of university and court records paint a picture of a prickly professor whose challenges sucked up significant university resources.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 28 Aug. 2025
To me, an American woman in the early 21st century, prickly and free-spirited Lady Murasaki now appears to have been chafing under conformist pressures in the Heian court.
—Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025
The loss of so many led to a population explosion of sea urchins — the prickly species that sea stars commonly eat — along the West Coast over the past decade.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prickly
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 30 Aug. 2025
Hundreds of pages of university and court records paint a picture of a prickly professor whose challenges sucked up significant university resources.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 28 Aug. 2025
To me, an American woman in the early 21st century, prickly and free-spirited Lady Murasaki now appears to have been chafing under conformist pressures in the Heian court.
—Lauren Groff, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025
The loss of so many led to a population explosion of sea urchins — the prickly species that sea stars commonly eat — along the West Coast over the past decade.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prickly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prickly
Adjective
-
Nina not being there contributed to one of the most irritating moments in this season so far, with Antonio smugly blowing a kiss into the camera for her and gloating about being in the top after her harsh critique last week.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
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An irritating habit of his is to stop by and launch into long-winded stories about some mundane event in his present or past life or to pontificate about a current event.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
He was adopted two weeks later, but after 18 months in his home, Scoob developed a painful skin condition that caused his ears to bleed and left him extremely irritable.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Instead, Helen is allowed to be irritable and anti-social, chain-smoking and snappish, without the filmmaker casting judgment.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The process to get a refund could be thorny for some.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
-
That’s a tall order with abysmal civic education and sharp partisan divisions over thorny issues.—
Karlyn Bowman,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Ncell, Nepal’s second-largest telecommunications service provider, noted that shutting down all platforms at once was, in any case, technically difficult and warned that the move would severely impact business.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Last summer, after years of hip problems and some difficult surgeries to address them, Jill had an operation that went poorly.—
Bianca Bosker,
The Atlantic,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And as the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears face off, on September 8th, to kick off the new season, fans can expect a soundtrack that’s as fiery as her nails.—
Larry Stansbury,
Essence,
11 Sep. 2025
-
But while Christy flaunts a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles unfold outside it — confronting family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life or death.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
There is nothing quite like the view from Monterey Bay—jagged coastline and evergreens framing a strip of blue.—
Beth Lew-Williams,
New Yorker,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Visitors will find themselves with jaws agape at the striking jagged mountain peaks, looming glaciers, and slick icebergs, all set to the backdrop of moody, misty weather—this is a photographer’s dream adventure.—
Stefanie Waldek,
AFAR Media,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Bella, now three and a half years old, was described by Overbye as calm, sensitive, quiet, smart, and playful.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
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Prevent this by grounding AI in your documents and adding human review for sensitive content.—
Louis Mosca,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
One of the most poignant choices is to intercut scratchy film of the train that in 1921 transported the Unknown Soldier to Rome in a coffin draped with patriotic banners and flowers, to be enshrined in the Altar of the Fatherland with an eternal flame at the Vittorio Emanuele II monument.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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Now, people who don’t have a technical understanding, there might be bootlegs, but that is scratchy stuff with not very good sound.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prickly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prickly. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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