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View synonyms for spiny

spiny

[ spahy-nee ]

adjective

, spin·i·er, spin·i·est.
  1. abounding in or having spines; thorny, as a plant.
  2. covered with or having sharp-pointed processes, as an animal.
  3. in the form of a spine; resembling a spine; spinelike.
  4. troublesome or difficult to handle; thorny:

    a spiny problem.



spiny

/ ˈspaɪnɪ /

adjective

  1. (of animals) having or covered with quills or spines
  2. (of plants) covered with spines; thorny
  3. troublesome to handle; puzzling
  4. shaped like a spine
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈspininess, noun
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Other Words From

  • spini·ness noun
  • non·spiny adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of spiny1

First recorded in 1580–90; spine + -y 1
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Example Sentences

He tried kicking his foot out to dislodge the spiny hitchhiker.

Depending on the lighting, you might not recognize that it’s a spiny as it is until you feel it.

While it’s one of the continent’s largest rodents— measuring up to three feet in length—this spiny friend is nothing to be afraid of.

Meanwhile, its spiny claws combed through the sediment and drew prey towards its mouth.

The spiny water flea is being studied and monitored in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park and Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

When Spiny Norman, the giant hedgehog, goes looking for the Dimsdale brothers in Monty Python.

The rules were fairly lax, and we watched Spiny Norman shouting “Dimsdale!”

Here and there a cactus plant thrust spiny arms into the air.

Acanthopterygian, ak-an-thop-tėr-ij′i-an, adj. having spiny fins.

A veritable hail of thunderbolts now crashed down upon the creature's spiny back.

The erect flower-stem terminates in a large round head of numerous imbricated oval spiny scales which surround the flowers.

Astragalus, a genus of papilionaceous plants, herbaceous or shrubby, and often spiny.

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spin wavespiny anteater