Thorny

Pronunciation: /ˈθɔrni/

Definitions of thorny

adjective having or covered with thorns; prickly

Example Sentences

A1 The cactus has thorny spikes to protect itself from predators.

A2 She carefully navigated through the thorny bushes in the forest.

B1 Dealing with difficult customers can be a thorny issue for customer service representatives.

B2 The negotiations between the two countries hit a thorny issue when discussing trade tariffs.

C1 The thorny problem of climate change requires global cooperation and innovative solutions.

C2 The thorny relationship between the two political parties made it difficult to reach a compromise.

Examples of thorny in a Sentence

formal The botanist carefully handled the thorny rose bush in the greenhouse.

informal Ouch, I pricked my finger on that thorny plant in the garden!

slang I hate dealing with those thorny situations at work.

figurative Navigating through the thorny issues in their relationship proved to be challenging.

Grammatical Forms of thorny

• past tense: thorned
• plural: thornies
• comparative: thornier
• superlative: thorniest
• present tense: thorns
• future tense: will thorn
• perfect tense: has thorned
• continuous tense: is thorning
• singular: thorny
• positive degree: thorny
• infinitive: to thorn
• gerund: thorning
• participle: thorned

Origin and Evolution of thorny

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'thorny' originated from Old English 'thornig' which comes from the Proto-Germanic word 'thurnuz'.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'thorny' has retained its original meaning of being covered in or having thorns, but it has also been extended metaphorically to describe situations or issues that are difficult or problematic.