cantankerous en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
Perhaps derived from earlier contenkerous, from contentious + rancorous.
Meanings
-
Given to or marked by an ill-tempered, quarrelsome nature; ill-tempered, cranky, crabby.
Nina was thrilled, muttering her cantankerous joy that I was getting out of the house.
2007, Linda Francis Lee, The Devil in the Junior League, page 44:Murphy's Law never proved itself more accurate than at the Nov. 18 film benefit for Persephone Press. With problems ranging from a cantankerous projector to blown fuses, the presentations of Jan Oxenberg's films were blurred, disrupted and played with lapses in their soundtracks.
1978 December 9, Pat M. Kuras, “A Splice of Lesbian Life”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 11:"She is a cantankerous old maid," added another, whom I recognised, by his voice, as a man whose attentions I had put a determined check to not six weeks before: "she is a cantankerous old maid, fretting and snarling over the loss of her beauty."
1839, “The youth of Julia Howard”, in Fraser's magazine for town and country, volume 20, page 618:By contrast, cantankerous and churlish people are contemptuously independent of others’ opinions, not caring enough about others and their views.
1998, Pauline Chazan, The Moral Self, page 80:Unfortunately, as Great-Aunt Bert could be a bit cantankerous, they were having to be creative.
2010, Clare Vanderpool, Moon Over Manifest, page 169:The normally cantankerous media did not complain.
2026 February 13, Mark Sappenfield, “Ilia Malinin and the unforgiving glare of the Olympic spotlight”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most cantankerous | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more cantankerous | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
cantankerousness · cantankerosity · cantankerously · uncantankerous
Synonyms
ornery (chiefly US)} · waspish · bad-tempered · short-tempered · cantankerous · snappish · irascible · cranky · querulous · ill-tempered · snappy · snippish · crotchety · fractious · dyspeptic · ill-natured · edgy · huffy · grouchy · snitchy · ratty · out of sorts · tetchy · brainish · bitchy · bilious · touchy · umbrageous · stressy · temperamental · splenetic · fiery · hot-tempered · crabby · peevish · humpy · volatile · fretful · snippy · twitchy · choleric · irritable · petulant · hot-livered · grotchy · snippety · atrabilious · crabbit · raspy · testy · hissy · quick-tempered · prickly · thorny · hotheaded · crotchety · surly · liverish · fantoddish · cranky · carnaptious · pettish · tetty · grumpy · thin-skinned
Translations (65)
pt mal-humorado (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · it bisbetico (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · fr irritable (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · mi āritarita (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · de übellaunig (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · sv grinig (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · gl bufiñón (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · it scorbutico (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · uk приче́пливий (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · bg заядлив (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · ro supărăcios (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · nb gretten (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · tr geçimsiz (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · eo malbonhumora (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · el κακότροπος (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · gl fungón (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · ru сварли́вый (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · it stizzoso (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · cs nevrlý (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · nl dwars (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · sv kvirrig (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · es cascarrabias (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · pt irritadiço (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · nl korzelig (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · eo kverelema (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · es mañoso (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · de launisch (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · it irascibile (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · cs hašteřivý (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · sv grälsjuk (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · pl kłótliwy (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · sv knarrig (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · tr aksi (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · de zänkisch (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · sv gnällig (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · tr huysuz (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · es intratable (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · mi pukukino (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · da kværulantisk (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · pt ranzinza (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · eo kolerema (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · gl rosmón (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · ro iritabil (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · eo incitiĝema (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · da krakilsk (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · la ācriculus (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · fi pahantuulinen (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · it collerico (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · it intrattabile (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · sv kverulantisk (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · es enojadizo (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · de mürrisch (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · it irritabile (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · ga anglánta (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · pl swarliwy (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · bg придирчив (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · es arisco (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · fi kärttyisä (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · ro susceptibil (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · mi nihoniho (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · ga agóideach (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · gl roñón (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · uk сварли́вий (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · nb kranglevoren (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby) · eo grumblema (ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby)