prickly
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.
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You think your family group chat, the one that includes both your prickly parents and defensive in-laws, is tricky to navigate?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The initiative comes as France is seeking to improve relations with Africa, particularly in former colonies with which it has prickly ties.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
All action, high-octane performances, adored by his fans yet prickly under pressure.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
This version simmers ripe peaches with honey and whole black peppercorns until the fruit collapses and the syrup turns fragrant, floral and just a little prickly.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Olanna felt a slight irritation, a prickly feeling on her skin.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The characters were pricklier and more restless than I remembered, and Alcott’s voice—good-natured but chiding, unsentimental—was a revelation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
Seuss’ Grinch sits somewhere in the middle — cuddlier than Krampus and pricklier than Santa — making him the perfect avatar for a moody, uncertain age.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2025
And now there are circumstances to navigate that are pricklier than the actors’ five o’clock shadows.
From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2025
Beyond the flowers, Lewis’s vehement style turns toward pricklier subjects.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2021
Things have been pricklier with Edna since she got in trouble, but I’m trying my best to ignore it and move on.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
At its prickliest, this is a film about the ways social niceties can mask deep distrust and dark pasts — which still have a way of surfacing eventually.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
But the prickliest part of their schedule still lay ahead.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 18, 2023
Defence and security is among the prickliest topics in the continuing debate over Scottish independence and would likely be a defining issue in any future referendum campaign.
From BBC ● May 18, 2022
Berhe did not receive the prickliest questions from the committee.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 3, 2021
Maggie was frowning, and twisting her shoulders, that she might, if possible, shrink away from the prickliest of tuckers; while her mother was saying, "Don't, Maggie, my dear—don't look so ugly!"
From Tom and Maggie Tulliver by George Eliot
Vocabulary lists containing prickly
"American Names"
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"Terrible Things"
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Spelling Practice, Unit 5
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