Synonyms of prickly

Adjective

1. bristly, prickly, splenetic, waspish, ill-natured (vs. good-natured)

usage: very irritable; "bristly exchanges between the White House and the press"; "he became prickly and spiteful"; "witty and waspish about his colleagues"

2. barbed, barbellate, briary, briery, bristled, bristly, burred, burry, prickly, setose, setaceous, spiny, thorny, armed (vs. unarmed)

usage: having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.; "a horse with a short bristly mane"; "bristly shrubs"; "burred fruits"; "setaceous whiskers"

Definition and meaning of prickly (Dictionary)