thorny
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++thorn·y /ˈθɔːni $ ˈθɔːrni/ adjective 1 a thorny question/problem/issue etc COMPLICATEDa question etc that is complicated and difficult 棘手的问题 the thorny question of immigration policy 移民政策这个棘手的问题2. HBPa thorny bush, plant etc has thorns 〔灌木、植物等〕有刺的，多刺的 —thorniness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
thorny• He may touch on several thorny border issues, such as immigration, sewage management and economic development.• Scritch, scratch, scramble, through the thorny bushes!• It is here that some of the thorniest decisions arise about choice and independence.• The ongoing success of his department validated his approach to the thorny problem of appraising individual effectiveness.• None of these struck me as particularly penetrating answers to a thorny problem.• The three still have to sort out the thorny question of who will run the centre and where it will be.• Before me lay a deep gulley choked with oleanders and thorny scrub, which descended precipitously down to the private beach.thorn·y adjectiveChineseSyllable
a question etc and difficult Corpus complicated is that
thorny
thorn‧y /ˈθɔːni $ ˈθɔːrni/
adjective
1. a thorny question/problem/issue etc a question etc that is complicated and difficult:
the thorny question of immigration policy
2. a thorny bush, plant etc has thorns
—thorniness noun [uncountable]
thorn‧y /ˈθɔːni $ ˈθɔːrni/
adjective1. a thorny question/problem/issue etc a question etc that is complicated and difficult:
2. a thorny bush, plant etc has thorns
—thorniness noun [uncountable]