Difficult
Difficult adjective - Requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling.
Usage example: it's a difficult situation when two of your friends are quarreling and you're trying to stay out of it
Prickly is a synonym for difficult. In some cases you can use "Prickly" instead an adjective "Difficult".
Nearby Word: difficulty
Prickly
Prickly adjective - Requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling.
Usage example: a prickly issue that will outrage at least one special interest if not handled delicately
Difficult is a synonym for prickly in problematic topic. Sometimes you can use "Difficult" instead an adjective "Prickly".
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- Prickly Porcupine: Savape states that they, along with armadillos, are difficult for her to eat.
Source: Webcomic / Raptormaniacs - Very effective portrayal of two people with a very prickly and truly difficult relationship, who clash over differences (or is it uncomfortable similarities?) of personality rather than empty angst, with clashes that do not center too heavily on the mage issue, Hawke being a rogue in this one.
Source: Fanfic Recs / Dragon Age - May symbolize a person who is "prickly" and difficult to get close to.
Source: Analysis / Animal Stereotypes
Cite this Source
Prickly and Difficult. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/difficult/prickly
Difficult & Prickly. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/difficult/prickly>.
Prickly or Difficult. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/difficult/prickly.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "difficult" and "prickly" have occurred on timeline