thorny

英 [ˈθɔːni]

美 [ˈθɔːrni]

adj. 棘手的; 麻烦的; 引起争议的; 有刺的; 多刺的

最高级：thorniest　比较级：thornier　

Collins.1 / BNC.18411 / COCA.13200

牛津词典

adj.

棘手的；麻烦的；引起争议的
causing difficulty or disagreement
1. a thorny question/issue/problem
  棘手的问题
有刺的；多刺的
having thorns
1. a thorny bush
  有刺的灌木

ADJ (植物、树木)带刺的，多刺的
Athornyplant or tree is covered with thorns.
1. ...thorny hawthorn trees.
  长满刺的山楂树
ADJ-GRADED (问题)棘手的，复杂难解的，令人头疼的
If you describe a problem asthorny, you mean that it is very complicated and difficult to solve, and that people are often unwilling to discuss it.
1. ...the thorny issue of immigration policy...
  移民政策这个棘手问题
2. It is essential that we tackle this thorny problem.
  我们很有必要处理这个棘手问题。

adj

Tax arbitrage has always been a thorny issue.
税收套利一直是个棘手的问题。
In a specification of hundreds of pages, consistency is a thorny problem.
在一部有着数百页的规格说明里，一致性是一个棘手的问题。
The thorny question of states 'rights.
关于国家权利的棘手问题。
Recruiting from outside the family, however, remain a thorny issue.
然而，在家族之外进行招聘仍然是个棘手的问题。
The concept has fascinated security experts, but there are thorny technical problems.
这个理念令安全专家深深着迷，但其中也存在棘手的技术难题。
Its relations with international rulemakers can be thorny: think of the World Trade Organisation.
美国与国际规则制定者之间的关系常常很棘手：例如和世界贸易组织。
How exactly these private dancers know which hotel rooms to visit, though, has become a thorny question.
可是，这些私人舞女究竟是怎样知道该去哪个旅馆房间的现在却成了一个棘手的问题。
Now we come to the thorny question of cost.
现在我们来讨论成本这个棘手的问题。
The so-called puppy love problem is a thorny issue for all teachers.
老师们大都把早恋看作一个棘手的问题。
Like the rest of Europe, they also face the thorny issues of immigration and integration.
与欧洲其他国家一样，它们也面临移民和一体化等棘手问题。