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as in difficult
requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling
the candidate tried to avoid discussing his views on the thorny issue
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thorny
Who exactly is going to be part of DOGE is a particularly thorny issue, because there are technically two DOGEs.
—
Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 24 Jan. 2025
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters As U.S. President Donald Trump looks to immediately fix his greatest political and economic bugbears, the thorny issue of NATO defense spending is likely to quickly return to the global fore.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2025
But a network of colleagues within the same domain with a broad array of experiences and expertise can deepen learning and unlock solutions to thorny problems.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
On thorny issues, Rubio stressed that Trump would dictate the policies while offering hints at the direction the Republicans would go.
—Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for thorny 
Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 24 Jan. 2025
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters As U.S. President Donald Trump looks to immediately fix his greatest political and economic bugbears, the thorny issue of NATO defense spending is likely to quickly return to the global fore.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2025
But a network of colleagues within the same domain with a broad array of experiences and expertise can deepen learning and unlock solutions to thorny problems.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
On thorny issues, Rubio stressed that Trump would dictate the policies while offering hints at the direction the Republicans would go.
—Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for thorny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thorny
Adjective
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Sea oats and fir trees dance in the breeze as seagulls squawk in a bright blue sky and the mighty Pacific crashes against the jagged shoreline a few dozen yards away.—
Blane Bachelor,
AFAR Media,
12 Feb. 2025
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The neck’s jagged base suggests that the head was torn from a larger, perhaps full-length figure, but the sculpture reveals almost no other significant damage.—
Christopher Knight,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Nevertheless, the offer could make OpenAI’s reorganization plans more difficult – and significantly more expensive.—
David Goldman,
CNN,
11 Feb. 2025
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The only thing that could make persuading a group of pandemic skeptics to care about an infectious-disease outbreak more difficult is your boss—the president of the United States—undercutting your raison d’être.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Camille Cottin is a standout as prickly, voluble talent agent Andréa Martel, but the whole cast intermingles with enough chemistry and charm to make this one of the best workplace comedies of the last decade.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
31 Jan. 2025
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Old news, perhaps, but among Bayern’s transfer targets is — inevitably — Wirtz, which would involve a prickly negotiation.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
The Athletic,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Still, the Steelers have some tough decisions to make for their roster, and the team has already made a big one by letting Smith go.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
15 Feb. 2025
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Both are now promising to stand up to Trump and make tough decisions to make Canada more resilient.—
Stephen Maher,
TIME,
15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier: on sale for $39.99 Original price: $49.99 (Amazon) A humidifier can help with dry coughs, congestion, nose bleeds, itchy eyes and scratchy throats.—
Nora Colomer,
Fox News,
5 Feb. 2025
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Richter draws on the survivor memoirs written and recorded by his relatives, collaging actual photographs with his own scratchy but realistic drawings.—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The suit filed Tuesday is the second from a religious group to challenge the Trump administration's lifting of the sensitive locations policy.—
Sarah Ventre,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2025
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What To Know Engelmayer is responsible for a Saturday ruling that blocked Musk and his DOGE allies from accessing sensitive Treasury records.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Experts warn that deep spending cuts could prove problematic, given that about two-thirds of government spending is directed toward Social Security, Medicare, national defense and Medicaid.—
Aimee Picchi,
CBS News,
7 Feb. 2025
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The post, which features an image of the problematic homework question, has been upvoted more than 27,000 times on the platform.—
Kristan Hawkins,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Construed as a pedagogical exercise more than entertainment, the film offers a deep reading into the complicated plurality of the populace that constitutes nations such as Germany.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
15 Feb. 2025
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Their final conflict goes down on Silver’s yacht in the middle of the open water, as Silver ridicules Kreese for his complicated relationship with Johnny.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
15 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near thorny
Cite this Entry
“Thorny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thorny. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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