Synonyms

spiny

[spahy-nee]

spin·y

[spahy-nee]
adjective, spin·i·er, spin·i·est.
1.
abounding in or having spines; thorny, as a plant.
2.
covered with or having sharp-pointed processes, as an animal.
3.
in the form of a spine; resembling a spine; spinelike.
4.
troublesome or difficult to handle; thorny: a spiny problem.

Origin:
1580–90; spine + -y1

spin·i·ness, noun
non·spin·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Spiny is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
spiny (ˈspaɪnɪ)
 
adj , spinier, spiniest
1.  (of animals) having or covered with quills or spines
2.  (of plants) covered with spines; thorny
3.  troublesome to handle; puzzling
4.  shaped like a spine
 
'spininess
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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