Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "prickly" []

  • Having prickles. (adjective)
  • Prickling or tingling or smarting: a prickly sensation in my foot. (adjective)
  • Causing trouble or vexation; thorny: a prickly situation. (adjective)
  • Bristling or irritable: "In consequence, he became rebarbative, prickly, spiteful” ( Robert Craft). (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "prickly" in a sentence
  • "Oh, I know it now; it is what they call the prickly pear in the West Indies."
  • "Luckily, Mary finds an unlikely champion in prickly Elizabeth Philpot, a recent exile from London, who also loves scouring the beaches."
  • "Last week, coming into Morgan's room, staring at her for a full minute in prickly silence."