Prickly — Prick ly, a. Full of sharp points or prickles; armed or covered with prickles; as, a prickly shrub. [1913 Webster] {Prickly heat} (Med.), a noncontagious cutaneous eruption of red pimples, attended with intense itching and tingling of the parts… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
prickly — 1570s, spiny, armed with prickles (originally of holly leaves), from PRICKLE (Cf. prickle) + Y (Cf. y) (2). Figurative sense of irritable first recorded 1862. Prickly heat is from 1736, so called for the sensation; prickly pear is from 1760 … Etymology dictionary
prickly — [adj1] thorny or difficult annoying, barbed, bothersome, brambly, briery, bristly, complicated, echinated, intricate, involved, knotty, nettlesome, pointed, sharp, spiny, stimulating, ticklish, tricky, troublesome, trying; concepts 485,565 Ant.… … New thesaurus
prickly — ► ADJECTIVE (pricklier, prickliest) 1) covered in or resembling prickles. 2) having or causing a prickling sensation. 3) ready to take offence … English terms dictionary
prickly — [prik′lē] adj. pricklier, prickliest 1. full of prickles 2. stinging; smarting; tingling prickliness n … English World dictionary
prickly — adjective 1 covered with prickles: Prickly brambles grew on either side of the path. 2 informal someone who is prickly gets annoyed or offended easily: Fiona s in a very prickly mood this morning. 3 something prickly makes you feel a small… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
prickly — [[t]prɪ̱kəli[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED Something that is prickly feels rough and uncomfortable, as if it has a lot of prickles. The bunk mattress was hard, the blankets prickly and slightly damp... The grass was prickly and cold. 2) ADJ GRADED Someone… … English dictionary
prickly — UK [ˈprɪklɪ] / US adjective Word forms prickly : adjective prickly comparative pricklier superlative prickliest 1) covered with sharp points that cut or sting prickly branches/bushes 2) a) informal tending to become angry very quickly He s always … English dictionary
prickly — adj. (pricklier, prickliest) 1 (esp. in the names of plants and animals) having prickles. 2 (of a person) ready to take offence. 3 tingling. Phrases and idioms: prickly heat an itchy inflammation of the skin, causing a tingling sensation and… … Useful english dictionary
prickly — prick|ly [ prıkli ] adjective 1. ) covered with sharp points that cut or sting: prickly branches/bushes 2. ) rough and making your skin feel uncomfortable: a prickly shirt 3. ) INFORMAL tending to become angry very quickly: He s always been very… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
