- spik|y
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1. having spikes; set with sharp, projecting points: »
Being tough and spiky, cacti are relatively poor fodder (Science News).
2. having the shape of a spike.3. Figurative. a) sharp; cutting: »“There's this chapel,” she said, feeling a spiky nostalgia (New Yorker). She makes spiky statements about, say, original sin (Manchester Guardian Weekly).
b) sharp-tongued; irritable; cross: »He is a controversial, occasionally spiky, man of steely intellect (London Times).
Useful english dictionary. 2012.