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Glite Dictionary
🌵 Full of thorns 🧩 Complicated problem 😠 Harsh manner
thorniness

thorniness

8.7
A matter that is complicated and causes strong disagreement
  • noun
  • /ˈθɔrnɪnəs/
translation icon : complejidad
  • The thorniness of the topic led to a heated debate among the panelists.

Examples

  • The thorniness of the legal issues made it challenging for the committee to reach a consensus.

  • Navigating the thorniness of the political landscape requires careful diplomacy and strategic thinking.

  • Well, it's easily enough explain what it is, despite the sort of difficulty and thorniness of the word.

Synonyms

contentiousness
vsthorniness
1 8.4

A habit of arguing and causing disagreement

focuses on complication and controversial points rather than arguing tendency
knottiness
vsthorniness
9.4

A quality that makes something hard to understand or solve

adds controversial or sensitive points
tortuousness
vsthorniness
9.9

A quality of having many twists that makes paths or ideas hard to follow

centres on controversial or difficult points rather than winding form

Antonyms

clarity
152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

simplicity
63 1.7

Being easy to understand and not complicated

How Difficult

thorniness
8.7
difficulty
651 2.4
challenge
∞ 3.1
ease
304 1.0

Surface Forms

thorniness singular
thorninesses plural

Morphology

thorniness = thorny (semi-transparent) = thorn + y + ness

Morphologically the noun is formed from the adjective 'thorny' with '-ness'; the formation is regular even if the adjective is used figuratively.

Etymology

Thorniness comes from the simple word thorn ('sharp point') and the ending -ness ('the quality of'). A helpful way to remember the figurative use is to think of problems as 'sharp points' that hurt, so thorniness means being full of difficult or tricky points.