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# thorny

«thorny» in Mova's school dictionary: **Having thorns — sharp, pointed parts on a stem or branch** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (thorny, thornier, thorniest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Having thorns — sharp, pointed parts on a stem or branch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#m1)

2) Difficult, complicated and likely to cause arguments: «a thorny problem». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science and nature, thorny plants like roses, brambles and cacti use thorns to protect themselves from animals. In everyday and formal talk, «a thorny issue» is a hard question people argue about. Phrases: «thorny bush», «thorny issue», «thorny problem», «thorny question».

### examples

- Be careful — the rose bush is thorny. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#x1)
- The thorny hedge kept the sheep in. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#x2)
- Blackberries grow on thorny brambles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#x3)
- Deciding where to go on holiday was a thorny question. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#x4)
- (formal) The council discussed the thorny issue of parking. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#x5)
- The prince cut his way through the thorny forest. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#x6)
- Cacti have thorny spines to protect them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#x7)
- The thorny creeping plants tore her sandals, but for all that she came rapidly forward. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/thorny/#x8)

### note

Comparative «thornier», superlative «thorniest». Adjective of «thorn». Strictly, cactus «spines» are not thorns, but in everyday speech people call them thorny. Gloves protect hands from thorny plants.

### In the corpora

- [Real biology: camels really do eat thorny desert plants; their tough lips and mouths are not hurt by the thorns.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/75-justso-camel-hump/19/)
- [Move carefully near thorny bushes such as roses and brambles, and get a grown-up's help to pull out a thorn.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/301-tsunamis-lambs-plants-ants-and-stings/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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