prickly
pronunciation
How to pronounce prickly in British English:
UK [ˈprɪkli]
How to pronounce prickly in American English:
US [ˈprɪkli]
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- Adjective:
- very irritable
- having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.
Word Origin
- prickly (adj.)
- 1570s, "spiny, armed with prickles" (originally of holly leaves), from prickle (n.) + -y (2). Figurative sense of "irritable" first recorded 1862. Prickly heat is from 1736, so called for the sensation; prickly pear is from 1760 (earlier prickle pear, 1610s). Related: Prickliness.
Example
- 1. But it also raises the prickly question of competition .
- 2. First , there is the prickly matter of race and religion .
- 3. That would underscore how much the countries of a prickly region have in common .
- 4. He 's found himself in a rather prickly situation - but at least he didn 't get eaten .
- 5. Mr. schumer 's request highlights how u.s. - china trade relations remain a prickly issue , especially during an election year .