The meaning of Prickly

adjective

(of an insect) having a sting.

Usage examples:

Almost all adult aculeate wasps and bees drink nectar for their own nourishment and are therefore f…

noun

A stinging insect of a group that includes the bees, wasps, and ants.

Usage examples:

Larval kleptoparasites of solitary aculeates are also found in the bombyliidae and chloropidae.

adjective

Having a barb or barbs.

Usage examples:

Barbed arrows

verb

Cut or style (a person's hair).

Usage examples:

He has barbed the hair of any celebrity you can think of

verb

(of hair or fur) stand upright away from the skin, typically as a sign of anger or fear.

Usage examples:

The hair on the back of his neck bristled

noun

A short, stiff hair on an animal's skin or a man's face.

Usage examples:

I haven't shaved for the day, so short bristles of my beard pepper my chin.

verb

Past simple and past participle of bristle

Usage examples:

The cat's fur bristled and it arched its back., she bristled at the suggestion that she had in any …

adjective

(of hair or foliage) having a stiff and prickly texture.

Usage examples:

He washed his bristly black hair

adjective

Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.

Usage examples:

He can be a cantankerous old fossil at times

adjective

Having a difficult and contrary disposition

adjective

Annoyed and tending to argue and complain

Usage examples:

By dinner, we were all tired and cantankerous.

adjective

(of handwriting) very small and difficult to decipher.

Usage examples:

His handwriting is crabbed and hideous

verb

Move sideways or obliquely.

Usage examples:

He began crabbing sideways across the roof

verb

Grumble about something petty.

Usage examples:

On picnics, i would crab about sand in my food

adjective

Irritable.

Usage examples:

A rather crabby old man

adjective

Easily annoyed and complaining

Usage examples:

You're very crabby today. what's bothering you?

noun

A mark, object, or figure formed by two short intersecting lines or pieces (+ or ×).

Usage examples:

Place a cross against the preferred choice

verb

Go or extend across or to the other side of (an area, stretch of water, etc.).

Usage examples:

She has crossed the atlantic twice

adjective

Annoyed.

Usage examples:

He seemed to be very cross about something

adjective

Irritable.

Usage examples:

He was tired and crotchety

adjective

Easily annoyed or angered

Usage examples:

After ten hours in the car, we were all getting crotchety.

adjective

(especially of an old person) bad-tempered and negative.

Usage examples:

A curmudgeonly old man

adjective

Often in a bad mood

Usage examples:

A superb drama about a curmudgeonly old man, "i don't want to sound curmudgeonly, but i really dese…

adjective

Unpleasant or unenjoyable.

Usage examples:

A disagreeable thought

adjective

Unpleasant; unattractive

Usage examples:

The drinking water had a disagreeable oily taste.

adjective

Tense, nervous, or irritable.

Usage examples:

He became edgy and defensive

adjective

Nervous or easily upset

Usage examples:

He paced the hallway looking edgy and impatient.

adjective

(typically of children) irritable and quarrelsome.

Usage examples:

They fight and squabble like fractious children

adjective

Tending to argue, fight, or complain, and hard to control

Usage examples:

Fractious relationships, the fractious nature of politics

adjective

Feeling or expressing distress or irritation.

Usage examples:

The baby was crying with a fretful whimper

adjective

Behaving in a way that shows you are unhappy, worried, or uncomfortable

Usage examples:

By midnight the children were tired and fretful (= complaining a lot because they were unhappy).

adjective

Having or showing a tendency to be quickly irritated or provoked.

Usage examples:

An impatient motorist blaring his horn

adjective

Not willing to wait for something to happen and becoming annoyed at delays

Usage examples:

Don’t be impatient, you’ll get your turn., she grew impatient with the others., [ + to infinitive ]…

adjective

Having or showing a tendency to be easily angered.

Usage examples:

An irascible and difficult man

adjective

Quickly aroused to anger

adjective

(of a person) easily made angry

Usage examples:

A cranky, irascible artist

adjective

Having or showing a tendency to be easily annoyed.

Usage examples:

She was tired and irritable

adjective

(of a person) wretchedly unhappy or uncomfortable.

Usage examples:

Their happiness made anne feel even more miserable

adjective

Very unhappy, or causing much unhappiness

Usage examples:

They can make your life miserable if they want to., the forecast is for miserable weather today.

adjective

Sullen and ill-tempered.

Usage examples:

She was morose and silent when she got home

adjective

Unhappy or annoyed and unwilling to speak, smile, or be pleasant to people

Usage examples:

Michael became morose and withdrawn after he lost his job.

adjective

Studded with short rough points.

Usage examples:

For example, a specimen-dependent (not species-dependent) character such as the pustules of the mur…

adjective

Having or showing an irritable disposition.

Usage examples:

A thin peevish voice

adjective

Strongly flavoured with pepper or other hot spices.

Usage examples:

A hot, peppery dish

adjective

Having a spicy flavour like pepper

Usage examples:

This salad has a sharp peppery flavour., he was a famously peppery lawyer.

adjective

(of a person or their behaviour) childishly bad-tempered and petulant.

Usage examples:

He comes across in his journal entries as spoiled and pettish

adjective

(of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered.

Usage examples:

He was moody and petulant

adjective

Easily angered or annoyed, esp. in a rude way

Usage examples:

He plays the part of a petulant young man in the film.

verb

Pierce or stab with a fork.

Usage examples:

He passed his fork to the right hand to prong the meat

adjective

A two/three-pronged plan involves two/three different ways of achieving the same aim

Usage examples:

The government has launched a two-pronged attack against poverty.

adjective

Having an uneven or irregular surface; not smooth or level.

Usage examples:

They had to carry the victim across the rough, stony ground

adverb

In a manner that lacks gentleness; harshly or violently.

Usage examples:

Treat 'em rough but treat 'em fair

noun

A disreputable and violent person.

Usage examples:

The rear of the column was attacked by roughs

adjective

(especially of a fabric or garment) having a rough, uncomfortable texture and tending to cause itching or discomfort.

Usage examples:

A cardigan in a scratchy wool

adjective

(of an object) having an edge or point that is able to cut or pierce something.

Usage examples:

Cut the cake with a very sharp knife

adverb

Precisely (used after an expression of time).

Usage examples:

The meeting starts at 7.30 sharp

noun

A musical note raised a semitone above natural pitch.

Usage examples:

Choices in successive levels expand to all notes, then sharps and flats.

verb

Impale on or pierce with a sharp point.

Usage examples:

She spiked another oyster

noun

A thin, pointed piece of metal, wood, or another rigid material.

Usage examples:

The spikes dug into the thin material of the bags, and dirt began to leak out.

noun

A sharp increase in the magnitude or concentration of something.

Usage examples:

The oil price spike

adjective

Having many spikes or sharp projecting points.

Usage examples:

A spiky cactus

adjective

Having spines; spiny.

Usage examples:

Spinose forms will need care in collecting

adjective

Having spines; spiny.

Usage examples:

Spinose forms will need care in collecting

adjective

Having long, sharp points or long and sharp in shape

adjective

Full of or covered with prickles.

Usage examples:

A spiny cactus

adjective

Covered with spines (= long, sharp points like needles)

adjective

Having many thorns or thorn bushes.

Usage examples:

Tangled thorny branches

adjective

Having a lot of thorns

Usage examples:

Roses are thorny shrubs., the thorny issue of illegal immigration remains unresolved.