What does "thorn" mean?
A modified branch that is hard and sharp like a spike.
Thorn
/θoɹn/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A modified branch that is hard and sharp like a spike.
- Grammar: thorn is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: prickle, spine, acanthion, acanthoid.
- Useful contrasts: advantage, benefit, bluntness.
- Usage evidence: Like a thorn stuck in your throat.
How to use "thorn"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "thorn" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "thorn" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "thorn" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "thorn" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "thorn" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "prickle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "thorn", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A modified branch that is hard and sharp like a spike.
- 2 something that causes irritation and annoyance wordnet
- 3 Any thorn-like structure on plants, such as the spine and the prickle.
"On the mountains a few junipers and piñons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants with bayonets and thorns."
- 4 a Germanic character of runic origin wordnet
- 5 Any shrub or small tree that bears thorns, especially a hawthorn.
"the white thorn"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 a small sharp-pointed tip resembling a spike on a stem or leaf wordnet
- 7 That which pricks or annoys; anything troublesome. figuratively
"There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me."
- 8 A letter of Latin script (capital: Þ, small: þ), borrowed from the futhark; today used only in Icelandic to represent the voiceless dental fricative, but originally used in several early Germanic scripts, including Old English where it represented the dental fricatives that are today written th (Old English did not have phonemic voicing distinctions for fricatives).
"In Old English manuscripts thorn and eth did not have different phonetic values but were used positionally[.]"
Verb
- 1 To pierce with, or as if with, a thorn (sharp pointed object).
"[…] human nature is, above all things, lazy, and needs to be thorned and goaded up those heights where it ought to fly."
Proper Noun
- 1 A topographic surname from Middle English for someone living near a thorn bush.
- 2 A place name:; A hamlet in Houghton Regis parish, Central Bedfordshire district, Bedfordshire, England (OS grid ref TL0024).
- 3 A place name:; A village in Maasgouw municipality, Limburg province, Netherlands.
- 4 A place name:; An unincorporated community in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, United States.
- 5 A place name:; Former name of Whitethorn, Humboldt County, California.
Example
"Like a thorn stuck in your throat."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "thorn"?
Common synonyms include: prickle, spine, acanthion, acanthoid, acanthus, aculea.
How do you use "thorn" in a sentence?
Like a thorn stuck in your throat.
How do you pronounce "thorn"?
Pronounced /θoɹn/.
Etymology
From Middle English thorn, þorn, from Old English þorn, from Proto-West Germanic *þorn, from Proto-Germanic *þurnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥nós, from *(s)ter- (“stiff”). Cognates Near cognates include West Frisian toarn, Low German Doorn, Dutch doorn, German Dorn, Danish and Norwegian torn, Swedish torn, törne, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽𐌿𐍃 (þaurnus). Further cognates include Old Church Slavonic трънъ (trŭnŭ, “thorn”), Russian тёрн (tjorn), Polish cierń, Kamkata-viri taňi, tai (“thorn”), Sanskrit तृण (tṛ́ṇa, “grass”).