This adjective describes objects made from thorns or thorn branches. Both New Testament occurrences refer to the στέφανος ἀκάνθινος—the crown of thorns—placed on Jesus during his mock coronation before the crucifixion (Mark 15:17; John 19:5). The word emphasizes the material composition: not merely decorated with thorns, but woven entirely from thorn branches, likely intended both to mock his claimed kingship and to inflict pain.