Definition of "nettlesome"

Mackenzie made himself a nettlesome burr under Crook's saddle, irritating the commanding general.

1995, Terry C. Johnston, A Cold Day in Hell‎

Though the pink dolphins are protected by law, the fishermen see them as nettlesome competitors for the catches that feed their families.

2011 April 16, Alexei Barrionuevo, “Fishermen in Amazon See a Rival in Dolphins”, in New York Times, retrieved 20 January 2011

[A]ll the strange oaths and imprecations found in a seaman's vocabulary were called into service by our nettlesome captain and his crew, and hurled without mercy on the winds and weather.

1832, Mary Russell Mitford, editor, Lights and Shadows of American Life, volume 2, page 241

It so chanced that on the second day after my arrival a pack-train came along, guided by a nettlesome old man and a strong, black-haired lass of sixteen or thereabouts. The old man . . had no sooner slipped the packs from the horses than he began to rail at Hans, who stood looking on. "You damned Dutchmen all be Tories, and worse," he cried.

1904, Winston Churchill, The Crossing (2003 Kessinger reprint), p. 61

Almost daily, U.S. newspapers are confronted by a nettlesome problem for which they have found no final answer. The problem: Should Negroes be identified as such in news stories?

1950 October 9, “The Press: John Smith, Negro”, in Time

For nearly 40 years, Mr. Solarin, an unpretentious and intensely pugnacious man, has been an intellectual guru for Nigeria's disenchanted and disfranchised.

1989 December 29, Kenneth B. Noble, “Nigeria Enlists the Nettlesome Man in Short Pants”, in New York Times, retrieved 20 January 2011

No one could act naturally with her. . She was sure she had never lived through days in which she, Anne Couper Fraser, forced those nearby to tiptoe around her nettlesome personality.

1995, Eugenia Price, Beauty from Ashes, page 146

He's also delving into one of the most nettlesome legal issues on the Net — whether one party can turn another's trademark into a URL.

2000 January 6, Jeremy Quittner, “The Lemonade Stand Circa 2000: A Boy, a Site, a $10 Million Lawsuit”, in BusinessWeek, retrieved 20 January 2011