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# prickly

«prickly» in Mova's school dictionary: **Covered in sharp points or prickles, like a hedgehog…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (prickly, pricklier, prickliest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Covered in sharp points or prickles, like a hedgehog, cactus or holly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#m1)

2) Giving a stinging or tingling feeling: a prickly jumper. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#m2)

3) (of a person) Easily annoyed or upset; grumpy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#m3)

4) (of a problem) Hard to deal with and likely to cause arguments. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science, prickly plants (cactus, gorse, holly, thistles) use prickles to protect themselves from being eaten; hedgehogs and porcupines have spines. In stories, a prickly character is touchy and grumpy. Health: «prickly heat» is an itchy rash in hot weather. Phrases: «prickly heat», «prickly pear», «prickly as a hedgehog», «a prickly subject».

### examples

- The hedgehog is prickly so foxes leave it alone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#x1)
- Be careful, the cactus is very prickly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#x2)
- This wool jumper feels prickly on my neck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#x3)
- Grandad gets prickly when he is tired. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#x4)
- Money can be a prickly subject. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#x5)
- Holly leaves are prickly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#x6)
- She got prickly heat on holiday in Spain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/#x7)

### note

Comparatives: pricklier, prickliest. Noun «prickle» (a sharp point); «prickliness». Related: «prick» (to make a tiny hole). Trap: «prickly» describes the thing or person, «prickle» is the spine itself.

### In the corpora

- [Pufferfish swallow water fast to blow up into a prickly ball, and many also have strong poison.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/90-aquarium-the-coral-reef-tank/12/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «prickly» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prickly/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.