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🇵🇹Portuguese Source WordCode: PT

espinhoso

Pronunciation / Transliteration: esh-pin-yo-zu

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Thorny/ˈθɔːr.ni/
adjectiveCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #8500 frequency
Full Thesaurus
🇵🇹 Example Sentence in Portuguese:

"Esta é uma questão espinhosa."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As adjective
  1. 1

    Having many thorns or sharp prickles.

    "Be careful when walking near the thorny bushes."
  2. 2

    Causing distress, difficulty, or complexity; problematic and hard to resolve.

    "The committee spent hours debating the thorny issue of tax reform."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Old English word 'þornig', formed from 'þorn' (thorn) combined with the adjectival suffix '-ig'. Historically used to describe physical plants covered in sharp spines, the term evolved metaphorically by the late medieval period to describe problematic, prickly, or difficult situations requiring delicate handling.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Thorny"?

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Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Thorny"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Thorny" Synonym Map
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