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Noun: thorniness  thor-nee-nus
  1. The quality of being covered with prickly thorns or spines
    - prickliness, bristliness, spininess
     
  2. A rough and bitter manner
    - bitterness, acrimony, acerbity, jaundice, tartness
     
  3. The property of being full of difficulties, complexities, or controversial points.
    "And, given the thorniness of the issues on the table, a work stoppage at all West Coast ports is not to be ruled out."

Type of: difficultness, difficulty, disagreeableness, fix [informal], hole [informal], jam [informal], kettle of fish [informal], mess [informal], muddle [informal], pickle [informal], raggedness, roughness