thistly

as in prickly
having leaves or branches which are likely to cause a scratch caught her sleeve on a thistly bush

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thistly
Adjective
  • Much of its body is covered in prickly sensory hair-like structures called setae, researchers said.
    Lauren Liebhaber September 8, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Revenge wears a wry smile in this prickly comedy from Paul Weitz (the director of American Pie and About a Boy), as Fonda and Tomlin inhabit former best friends who reunite for a funeral.
    Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 6 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
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.

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“Thistly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thistly. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

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