as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper
a cantankerous old woman who insisted that nothing should ever be allowed to change
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of cantankerous in a Sentence
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web
Because the umpire, a cantankerous aging hippie, goes by the book, the game nearly doesn’t happen at all, when one guy’s obliviousness to game time risks his team being a player short.
—
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2024
Island life is energetically rendered, and there’s an appreciation for details too — from the splinters on the giant tree an industrial beaver (Matt Berry) gnaws at daily to the fine hairs on cantankerous grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill).
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024
However, this full moon is rather cantankerous and could bring shocks, surprises and stormy weather your way.
—Kyle Thomas, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2024
That includes Thomas’ cantankerous father-in-law William (Kevin Pollak), who despises Thomas and walks into every scene with an insult lobbed at the birthday boy.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cantankerous 
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2024
Island life is energetically rendered, and there’s an appreciation for details too — from the splinters on the giant tree an industrial beaver (Matt Berry) gnaws at daily to the fine hairs on cantankerous grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill).
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024
However, this full moon is rather cantankerous and could bring shocks, surprises and stormy weather your way.
—Kyle Thomas, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2024
That includes Thomas’ cantankerous father-in-law William (Kevin Pollak), who despises Thomas and walks into every scene with an insult lobbed at the birthday boy.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cantankerous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cantankerous
Adjective
-
On Monday, after Rodgers and former head coach Robert Saleh had spent several months bickering over topics such as unexcused absences and cadence, the irritable quarterback won out again.Rob Reischel, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024
-
Within a couple of weeks of wearing the buds, my ears stopped having the irritable side effects.Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 3 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Intimations of violence are regular features of Trump rhetoric, and many of his supporters may be angry enough to respond.Barton Gellman, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024
-
The set includes eight emotions: happy, sad, angry, surprised, silly, anxious, loved, and tired.Toby Rose, Parents, 24 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Chief among them – though this lead, like every other character, goes nameless – is an ornery sort played by Mastandrea himself.Ben Croll, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
-
In fact, the part of Mabel, housewife to ornery construction worker Nick (played by Peter Falk) and mother to three rather unruly kids, was originally written by Cassavetes for the theater.Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Aug. 2024
Adjective
-
Fed up with his surly demeanor and negative attitude, the station hires psychologist Dr. Ivy Reed (Essence Atkins) to infuse a level of emotion into Poppa’s talk show.Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 21 Oct. 2024
-
Meanwhile, Dexter’s own co-worker in the Miami Police Department, the surly James Doakes, is tightening the screws in his grudge against Dexter.Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 23 Aug. 2024
Adjective
-
Buried in a bland mixed-use skyscraper in the dreary Financial District downtown, an aging, if glamorous, 1929 movie palace with rotten acoustics long served as the San Diego Symphony’s disagreeable home.Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
-
The fasting is uncomfortable, the prep is disagreeable, and the procedure itself requires you to be put to sleep.Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 15 Aug. 2024
Adjective
-
And while there is enough splenetic wit and manic detail to generate obsessive fandom (entire sections of Web sites are dedicated to deciphering just what Kenny is mumbling), subjects like alien abduction, genetic engineering, and Kathie Lee are hardly original targets for satire.Chris Norris, SPIN, 13 Aug. 2022
-
Meanwhile, the commentator and controversialist Piers Morgan, an obsessively close observer and relentless critic of Meghan, inevitably waded in with his usual splenetic views.Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022
Adjective
-
Not altogether surprising because the proliferation of guns and incendiary political rhetoric over the past few decades — and especially the last few bilious years — made the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pa., seemingly just a matter of time.Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2024
-
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Rampant exposure to this movie on cable suggests that Scorsese’s bilious portrait of Jordan Belfort may soon join GoodFellas as one of the director’s most intensely rewatchable efforts.Will Leitch, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024
Articles Related to cantankerous
Thesaurus Entries Near cantankerous
Cite this Entry
“Cantankerous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cantankerous. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share