thornily

thorn·y

[thawr-nee]
adjective, thorn·i·er, thorn·i·est.
1.
abounding in or characterized by thorns; spiny; prickly.
3.
overgrown with thorns or brambles.
4.
painful; vexatious: a thorny predicament.
5.
full of difficulties, complexities, or controversial points: a thorny question.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English; Old English thornig. See thorn, -y1

thorn·i·ly, adverb
thorn·i·ness, noun
un·thorn·y, adjective


5. tough, sticky, ticklish, perplexing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To thornily
00:10
Thornily is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
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.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
thorny (ˈθɔːnɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj , thornier, thorniest
1.  bearing or covered with thorns
2.  difficult or unpleasant: a thorny problem
3.  sharp
 
'thornily
 
adv
 
'thorniness
 
n

thorny (ˈθɔːnɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj , thornier, thorniest
1.  bearing or covered with thorns
2.  difficult or unpleasant: a thorny problem
3.  sharp
 
'thornily
 
adv
 
'thorniness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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