thornily
In prickly fashion
In a thorny manner—with difficulty, irritation, or prickliness.
The word applies to situations navigated with care around obstacles or sensitivities: The committee thornily debated the budget cuts.
It can also describe a sharp or irritable tone: She responded thornily to the criticism.
With deliberate emphasis
- piercinglyIn a penetrating manner
- cuttinglyIn a wounding manner
- bitinglyWith stinging sharpness
- stinginglyIn a biting manner
caustically · acerbically · barbed · jagged · spiky · bristly · prickly · nettlesome
In irritated manner
- crankilyIn a peevish way
- grouchilyIn an ill-tempered manner
- snappishlyIn an irritable way
- waspishlyIn an irritable manner
peevishly · curtly · brusquely · tersely · touchily · bristling · abrasively · sourly
In a dubious way
- complicatedlyIn complex manner
- intricatelyWith complex detail
- awkwardlyIn a clumsy manner
- troublesomelyIn a problematic manner
vexingly · perplexingly · demandingly · challengingly · laboriously · knotty · tangled · convoluted
In debatable fashion
- argumentativelyIn a quarrelsome manner
- polemicallyIn a disputatious manner
- divisivelyIn a splitting manner
- acrimoniouslyWith sharp ill will
combatively · quarrelsomely · litigiously · fractiously · wrangling · bickering · debate · dispute
pointedly
With deliberate emphasis
- piercinglyIn a penetrating manner
- cuttinglyIn a wounding manner
- bitinglyWith stinging sharpness
stingingly · caustically · acerbically · barbed · jagged · spiky · bristly · prickly · nettlesome · scratchy
testily
In irritated manner
- crankilyIn a peevish way
- grouchilyIn an ill-tempered manner
- snappishlyIn an irritable way
waspishly · peevishly · curtly · brusquely · tersely · touchily · bristling · abrasively · sourly · tartly
problematically
In a dubious way
- complicatedlyIn complex manner
- intricatelyWith complex detail
- awkwardlyIn a clumsy manner
troublesomely · vexingly · perplexingly · demandingly · challengingly · laboriously · knotty · tangled · convoluted · complex
controversially
In debatable fashion
- argumentativelyIn a quarrelsome manner
- polemicallyIn a disputatious manner
- divisivelyIn a splitting manner
acrimoniously · combatively · quarrelsomely · litigiously · fractiously · wrangling · bickering · debate · dispute · controversy
thornilysmoothly
Without friction or difficulty
easily · effortlessly · straightforwardly · simply · seamlessly