prickly
18
5.7
- adjective
- /ˈprɪkli/
- I know that my friends can be prickly, but I don't know, give it some time.
- prickly personality
- get prickly
- prickly relationship
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Watch on YouTubeThat's where people start to get real prickly here.
- That's where people start to get real prickly here.
- And in the absence of that, people get pretty prickly, to say the least.
- You might for example have someone who's texting you all the time and might get real prickly if you don't respond quickly.
- It's very prickly, but actually, like, kind of sweet at the same time.
- In truth, it's just never going to be easy to manage that type of smart, hard charging and frankly prickly people that you find in organizations like this.
- Like maybe your your family life is nuts but your friends are always there for you and your cat shows you unconditional love and they're prickly little special way.
Examples
-
Academics can be prickly about having their work questioned, especially when the critiques occur outside the normal scholarly channels.
Academic text (2016) -
So how do you deal with those prickly types of considerations, Steve?
-
It's very prickly, but actually, like, kind of sweet at the same time.
-
And in the absence of that, people get pretty prickly, to say the least.
-
Why are you so prickly?
-
I hate that he's sort of prickly when you first meet him, but underneath it's really sweet.
-
Slipping into retirement, he was even more absorbed by the delicacies of hierarchical arrangements and prickly about his position.
Academic text (2002) -
Carl can be a bit prickly, but he’s a top notch security man and he happens to like the way -your mind thinks, okay?
-
She was feeling prickly after her coworkers made fun of her new haircut.
-
He has a prickly attitude, especially when people question his decisions.
Synonyms
31
4.9
A person who gets upset by small comments
20
8.2
Acting easily annoyed and impatient about small things
14
6.1
Feel upset easily when people criticize
9
5.9
Quick to feel annoyed or offended by small remarks
6
4.2
Quick to get angry or easily annoyed
5
5.6
Easily upset by what others say or do
5
8.6
Quick to become angry, often at small things
3
5.6
Quick to become annoyed or upset
2
9.9
Easily upset or offended by small things
2
9.1
Gets angry easily about small things
1
9.9
Easily upset or hurt by small harmless remarks
1
8.1
Being easily annoyed by small things
1
8.8
Quick to speak in a rude or angry way that hurts others
1
8.1
Easily annoyed and quick to speak sharply
1
6.4
Quick to get annoyed and show irritation
1
9.9
Easily become angry and say harsh things
1
9.7
Feeling annoyed and in a bad mood
1
9.1
Being easily annoyed and quick to feel offended
1
8.9
Being rude and getting upset by small things
1
9.9
Easily offended and quick to feel hurt by small comments or jokes
1
9.9
Quick to feel offended and show anger
1
7.5
Easily upset by things people say or do
1
6.3
Very easily upset by what people say or do
Being bad-tempered and easily offended
Being a little angry and easily annoyed with people
Antonyms
Compounds
2
4.1
A pear-shaped fruit from a cactus covered in small sharp spines that people eat or use to make drinks
- Australian
1
9.8
An Australian tree with leaves that have sharp teeth and thin spikes of white flowers
- Specialized
1
9.2
A plant with large yellow or white flowers and sharp stems and seed pods
1
8.3
A wild plant from Europe with prickly stems that often grows in gardens as a weed
- US
A small pine tree with two needles together, peeling brown bark, and cones with sharp points
- Specialized
A North American fern with year-round green leathery leaves covered in pale brown scales
- Indian
A leafy green plant with small prickly seeds that people grow for its tender dark leaves used in cooking
How Irritable
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Prickly when used about a person comes from the same prick, which means 'to poke', and a helpful way to remember it is this: a small poke hurts, so a prickly person is quick to feel hurt or annoyed by small things.