# thorny

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈθɔːni/ · frequency rank #31,798

## Definitions
1. Having thorns or spines.
2. Troublesome or vexatious.
3. Aloof and irritable.

## Etymology
From Middle English thorny, þorny, þorni, from Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. By surface analysis, thorn + -y.

## Easily confused with
- **Tony** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thorny-vs-tony)
- **torn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thorny-vs-torn)
- **Tory** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thorny-vs-tory)
- **thorpe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thorny-vs-thorpe)
- **Thor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thor-vs-thorny)
- **thon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thon-vs-thorny)
- **thorn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thorn-vs-thorny)
- **thong** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thong-vs-thorny)
- **theory** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/theory-vs-thorny)
- **thirty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thirty-vs-thorny)
- **thorax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/thorax-vs-thorny)

## Common misspellings (10)
`htorny`, `thhorny`, `thonry`, `thornny`, `thornyy`, `thorrny`, `thoryn`, `throny`, `tohrny`, `tthorny`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/thorny