as in difficult
requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling
this promises to be a spiny problem to negotiate
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spiny
Keep your gooseberry shrub well-watered, and be sure to prune it—some varieties of this shrub have fairly spiny branches that can make harvesting berries uncomfortable without gloves.
—
Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 27 Apr. 2026
The plant is easily identified by its rampant growth in the spring and its spiny globular fruit.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
In late November, the annual Anegada Lobster Festival takes the island's year-round lobster love and turns it into an obsession, with local restaurants featuring special dishes and plenty of events making the spiny Anegada lobster the star of the show.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
The Cleveland Botanical Garden's Glasshouse spotlights plants, insects, birds, and more from the spiny desert of Madagascar and the rainforest of Costa Rica.
—Ashlyn Ware, Midwest Living, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spiny
Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 27 Apr. 2026
The plant is easily identified by its rampant growth in the spring and its spiny globular fruit.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
In late November, the annual Anegada Lobster Festival takes the island's year-round lobster love and turns it into an obsession, with local restaurants featuring special dishes and plenty of events making the spiny Anegada lobster the star of the show.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
The Cleveland Botanical Garden's Glasshouse spotlights plants, insects, birds, and more from the spiny desert of Madagascar and the rainforest of Costa Rica.
—Ashlyn Ware, Midwest Living, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spiny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiny
Adjective
-
JSerra navigated a difficult regular-season schedule, then avoided upsets in the playoffs.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
But the strength of his acidic, strong, difficult performance was too powerful for the Tonys to deny.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
More recent air quality news Major automakers are urging the EPA to delay tougher vehicle pollution standards for two years.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
-
In a tough economy for local breweries, Clairvoyant has found a way to keep its heart beating.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
In a chat with Mica, George apologized for not being sensitive to her feelings following the recoupling.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
7 June 2026
-
These burn areas create barriers around villages, headwaters and sensitive sites, protecting them from wildfires during peak drought.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Adjective
-
The green leaves are splotched with white and bumpy on the upper side, and the stems are hairy, which deters deer.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
4 June 2026
-
And those proudly showing off their hairy chests, and pimply backs, scars from surgeries and stretch marks from a life well lived.—
Candace Buckner,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
But when rains fall heavily between November and April, sticky clay soils make traveling around it tricky.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
One non-stick skillet for delicate foods (eggs, omelets, fish) and sticky batters (pancakes).—
Ryan Brennan
June 2,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Even discussing a film from 1990, that’s a thorny observation to ignore.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
4 June 2026
-
As is true of any good museum, the history presented at the Anacostia Community Museum is thorny and sometimes uncomfortable.—
Camille Borders,
The Atlantic,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Oil prices have risen, but the market continues to behave as though the disruption will be resolved before inventories become truly problematic.—
Robert Rapier,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Certain foods, like fruit or milk, that naturally have carbs present are not problematic.—
Jennifer Lefton,
Verywell Health,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Wang Xiaogang, co-founder of the Chinese AI software company SenseTime and chairman of ACE Robotics, said his company is collecting a lot of human-centric data from factories, retailing and offices settings that could guide advanced robots to perform complicated functions.—
Chan Ho-Him,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
-
Be ready to get out the door in seconds, thanks to the effortless slip-on design, no complicated fastenings necessary.—
Caroline Hughes,
Travel + Leisure,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spiny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiny. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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