spinous

adjective

spi·nous ˈspī-nəs

: spiny sense 2

a spinous plant

: spiny sense 3

: difficult or unpleasant to handle or meet : thorny

Did you know?

English writers have been associating spines with things that are difficult to take since at least 1586, when the English dramatist Thomas Kyd used the word spiny to describe his "cares." "Spinous" took on its figurative use in 1638, when the phrase "spinous criticisms" appeared. "Thorny explications" followed shortly after that, in 1653. Emily Dickinson gets the credit for giving the word prickly its "troublesome" sense. In her 1862 poem that begins "The Child's faith is new," she wrote, "To hold mistaken / His pretty estimates / Of Prickly Things."

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web There is a possibility of spinous process fracture, a break along the vetebrae that generally heals without long-term damage.

Profootballdoc, sandiegouniontribune.com, 29 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spinous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.