Adjacent Words

Spiny definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPI'NY, a. [from spine.]
1. Full of spines; thorny; as a spiny tree.
2. Perplexed; difficult; troublesome.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having spines; "the dorsal fin is spinous" [syn: spinous, spiny] [ant: spineless]
2: having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.; "a horse with a short bristly mane"; "bristly shrubs"; "burred fruits"; "setaceous whiskers" [syn: barbed, barbellate, briary, briery, bristled, bristly, burred, burry, prickly, setose, setaceous, spiny, thorny]

Merriam Webster's

adjective (spinier; -est) Date: 1586 1. abounding with difficulties, obstacles, or annoyances ; thorny <spiny problems> 2. covered or armed with spines; broadly bearing spines, prickles, or thorns 3. slender and pointed like a spine • spininess noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (spinier, spiniest) 1 full of spines; prickly. 2 perplexing, troublesome, thorny. Phrases and idioms: spiny anteater = ECHIDNA. spiny lobster any of various large edible crustaceans of the family Palinuridae, esp. Palinuris vulgaris, with a spiny shell and no large anterior claws. Derivatives: spininess n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spiny Spin"y, a. [From Spine.] 1. Full of spines; thorny; as, a spiny tree. 2. Like a spine in shape; slender. ``Spiny grasshoppers sit chirping.'' --Chapman. 3. Fig.: Abounding with difficulties or annoyances. The spiny deserts of scholastic philosophy. --Bp. Warburton. Spiny lobster. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Rock lobster, under Rock. See also Lobster.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spiny Spin"y, n. See Spinny.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

A spiny plant or animal is covered with long sharp points. ...a spiny lobster. ...a spiny cactus. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Thorny, spinose, spinous, briery. 2. Slender. 3. Thorny, difficult, troublesome, perplexed.

Moby Thesaurus

Herculean, abstruse, acanthoid, acanthous, acicular, acuate, aculeate, aculeiform, acuminate, acute, arduous, barbed, brutal, complex, cornuted, critical, cusped, cuspidate, delicate, demanding, difficile, difficult, exacting, formidable, hairy, hard, hard-earned, hard-fought, hispid, horned, horny, intricate, jawbreaking, knotted, knotty, laborious, mean, mucronate, needle-pointed, needle-sharp, nettlesome, no picnic, not easy, operose, pointed, prickly, pronged, rigorous, rough, rugged, set with thorns, severe, sharp-pointed, spiculate, spiked, spiky, spined, spinous, steep, strenuous, tapered, tapering, thorny, ticklish, tined, toilsome, toothed, tough, tricky, unbated, uphill, wicked