In Ireland have I seen this stubborn Cade Oppose himself against a troop of kerns, And fought so long till that his thighs with darts Were almost like a sharp-quill'd porpentine;
Source: wiktionary
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Keep "quilled" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "quilled" intact in the sentence you are editing.
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
After choosing a replacement for "quilled", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "quilled" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
6 total sentences available.
In Ireland have I seen this stubborn Cade Oppose himself against a troop of kerns, And fought so long till that his thighs with darts Were almost like a sharp-quill'd porpentine;
Source: wiktionary
He leaned down to inspect a white-quilled cactus, and then spotted a different kind with skinnier branches and only a few drab spines.
Source: wiktionary
A quilled lionfish was face to face with a saurian moray eel, sizing it up before swimming on.
Source: wiktionary
In the wild state the flowers are single—that is to say, only the outer florets are strap-shaped, and usually of a rosy-lilac tint, with yellowish disc florets; but under cultivation, all the florets have become ligulate or quilled […]
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 6 available sentences.
Closest matches include dog eared, doubled, flexible, fluted, folded.
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.