thorny

adjective3

1. •
   Having thorns or spines.

   • Tara flour is one of two products made from the seed pods of a thorny shrub native to Peru. One of those, tara gum, has been used safely for years as a thickening agent or stabilizer in human foods. — 2024
2. •
   (figurative) Troublesome or vexatious.

   • thorny issues
3. •
   (figurative) Aloof and irritable.

   • Come, Jo, don't be thorny. After studying himself to a skeleton all the week, a fellow deserves petting, and ought to get it. — 1868