as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper
a cantankerous old woman who insisted that nothing should ever be allowed to change
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Recent Examples of cantankerous
Of course, even the most cantankerous player can have his suitors when his play is of a certain standard, and Acosta is among the best No. 10s in one of the few leagues that caters to the specialized role.
—
Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025
Over the years, site landowners from the same family could be cantankerous (Elmer Lindsey) or friendly and willing to be engaged (Howard and Doris Lindsey).
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Oct. 2024
Trouble is, his nemesis frequently escapes Cat Jail, which annoys the cantankerous Chief (Lil Rel Howery) and the city’s mean Mayor (Cheri Oteri).
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 29 Jan. 2025
What to Know Coughenour, 83, has a reputation for being a tough and cantankerous judge.
—Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cantankerous
Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025
Over the years, site landowners from the same family could be cantankerous (Elmer Lindsey) or friendly and willing to be engaged (Howard and Doris Lindsey).
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Oct. 2024
Trouble is, his nemesis frequently escapes Cat Jail, which annoys the cantankerous Chief (Lil Rel Howery) and the city’s mean Mayor (Cheri Oteri).
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 29 Jan. 2025
What to Know Coughenour, 83, has a reputation for being a tough and cantankerous judge.
—Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cantankerous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cantankerous
Adjective
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Strong winds also may have North Texans feeling more irritable, which scientists blame on there being too many positive ions in the air.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
20 Mar. 2025
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Signs of overextension burnout include feeling emotionally drained, becoming irritable and struggling to focus—all of which can affect both your work and personal life.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Harry Belafonte was angry at Martin Luther King’s funeral.—
Made by History,
Time,
4 Apr. 2025
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Related article People are angry at Gen Z taking photos of airport trays.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The protagonist is an ornery, unemployed academic (Lee Sung-jae) who becomes fixated on a barking dog in his apartment complex, and goes to extreme lengths to silence it.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2025
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The offensive line, in Monken’s estimation, is the most talented and possibly most ornery unit he’s had at West Point, all the way down to wrestling each other to settle arguments about who’s tougher.—
Brian Hamilton,
The Athletic,
21 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The Sum of a Career in Spaceflight Schirra had announced his plans to retire from NASA before the Apollo 7 flight, and a successful (if surly) mission, topped off with an Emmy Award and a Deep Draft Command certificate, wasn’t a bad way to wrap up a nine-year career at the agency.—
Kiona N. Smith,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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The Pacific Northwest, which has played host to a series of surly atmospheric rivers and a bomb cyclone in recent days, should finally quiet down, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys told USA TODAY on Sunday as that national weather picture for the holiday grew sharper.—
John Bacon,
USA TODAY,
24 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The United States’s three most powerful European allies disagree with its plan for ending the brutal, destructive stalemate in Ukraine, with Germany the most disagreeable.—
Dominic Green,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
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Sometimes that means confronting disagreeable people.—
David Plazas,
The Tennessean,
24 Apr. 2024
Adjective
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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
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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
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That pleasurable little paradox can be traced as far back as the 1952 classic melodrama The Bad and the Beautiful, or as recently as 2022's bilious Babylon.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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In the Nineties, the report became a staple in the bilious feedstock of right-wing militias, part of a slurry of propaganda that turned legitimate grievances into the conviction that FEMA agents in unmarked black helicopters were soon to enact a new world order.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harper's Magazine,
19 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cantankerous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cantankerous. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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