Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

prickly

[prik-lee] / ˈprɪk li /




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Her performance is staggeringly human, so honest and unvarnished that it immediately calls to mind Meryl Streep’s similarly prickly work in “Sophie’s Choice.”

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

Driving around Raub, a small town in Malaysia, it's impossible to miss the prickly fruit that powers its economy.

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026

Impressive world building gives a visceral texture to the environment that reflects the prickly emotions by those used, abused and cast off, who then reclaim their power by banding together.

From Salon • Dec. 19, 2025

Hong Hong authorities are prickly about all the bad press that their handling of Mr. Lai is generating for China.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

But he hadn't been thinking of doing so at all, and began to get a most uncomfortable prickly feeling in his spine.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis




Vocabulary lists containing prickly