/ ˈprɪkli; NAmE / adjective
1.
covered with prickles :
a prickly bush
2.
causing you to feel as if your skin is touching sth that is covered with prickles :
a prickly feeling
3.
( informal ) ( of a person ) easily annoyed or offended
SYN touchy
4.
( of a decision, an issue, etc. ) difficult to deal with because people have very different ideas about it
SYN thorny :
Let's move on to the prickly subject of taxation reform.