1
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
a crabby old dog who snapped at passersby
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in restless
given to complaining a lot
a bunch of crabby kids who don't want to do any work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crabby
Come the crash of 2008, David’s leisure-world empire collapses, and Abraham’s patriarchal mien and tolerance turn to crabby solitude with the prospect of unloading their dream for pennies on the dollar.
—
Gordon Cox, Variety, 2 Aug. 2024
Hailee Steinfeld plays the crabby, impatient, and judgmental high schooler Nadine.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 30 July 2024
One crabby older professor in particular, Devoto (Silvio Orlando), mostly ignores her looks but is taken with her ideas.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 May 2024
Mannequin on Main, 113 S. Main St., Bel Air
Who could be crabby wearing these ceramic earrings?
—Barbara Haddock Taylor, Baltimore Sun, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for crabby 
Gordon Cox, Variety, 2 Aug. 2024
Hailee Steinfeld plays the crabby, impatient, and judgmental high schooler Nadine.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 30 July 2024
One crabby older professor in particular, Devoto (Silvio Orlando), mostly ignores her looks but is taken with her ideas.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 22 May 2024
Mannequin on Main, 113 S. Main St., Bel Air
Who could be crabby wearing these ceramic earrings?
—Barbara Haddock Taylor, Baltimore Sun, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for crabby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crabby
Adjective
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By the end, Liverpool’s players seemed tired and Klopp was irritable, clearly in need of a rest.—
Simon Hughes,
The Athletic,
20 Jan. 2025
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The trio’s sixth record is charmingly irritable in both of its moods: hopped up on fluffy coffee while cracking baseball jokes, or dragging out downbeats and lamenting power structures to goad listeners with mounting anticipation.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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But Gaza — marked by decades of bloodshed — is a uniquely volatile addition to the roll call of lands whose sovereignty and assets have come under Trump’s restless eye.—
Laura King,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2025
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His output is alluded to in the film’s atmospheric credit sequence, in which a restless, scratchy charcoal pencil attacks white paper, the claustrophobia of which is intensified by the director’s intimate use of Academy ratio.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The only people who can help Sara and Devin are Isaac (Taylor Kitsch), a grouchy mountain man, and Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier), a mute Shoshone girl fleeing her own violent past.—
Daniel Fienberg,
The Hollywood Reporter,
9 Jan. 2025
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The fans who booed last week at Gillette Stadium seemed more grouchy than outraged.—
Steve Buckley,
The Athletic,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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There’s the young and bubbly Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) with her grumpy older boyfriend Rick (Walton Goggins), who is inexplicably miserable (and smoking).—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2025
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On board the boat, Saxon and Timothy clash with the grumpy Rick (Walton Goggins), who’s in Thailand for mysterious purposes with his younger girlfriend, the sweet, free-spirited Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood).—
Meredith Blake,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Trying to Kill Each Other' And Walken is marvelous — querulous, petty, cruel — as the Emperor.—
Tom Gliatto,
Peoplemag,
29 Feb. 2024
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Instead, Gerwig and Baumbach promote querulous sloganeering.—
Armond White,
National Review,
19 July 2023
Adjective
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Both Hancock and Quaid recall their first meeting about the script — especially how nervous the actor was.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
4 Feb. 2025
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These tips can help nervous flyers manage or overcome their fear of the skies.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN,
3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Fox this month also premiered a half-hour comedy, Going Dutch, starring a cranky (though not notoriously right-wing) actor — Denis Leary — that revolves around characters in the military.—
Josef Adalian,
Vulture,
17 Jan. 2025
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Michael Ritchie’s hilarious classic features a cranky boozer (Walter Matthau at his best) coaching a batch of bad-news Little Leaguers, one played by Tatum O’Neal.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
21 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near crabby
Cite this Entry
“Crabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crabby. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.
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