as in petulant
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Recent Examples of stroppy
Ramaswamy stole a page from Trump’s 2016 playbook, emerging as a stroppy candidate challenging the status quo of Washington.
—
Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
All of a sudden the show’s main obsession, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, is no longer a stroppy teenager, and she’s no longer portrayed by Milly Alcock.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2022
Madison makes for a peculiar heroine; her performance as a realistically stroppy adolescent, in possession of a weariness and cynicism far beyond her years, recalls Karen Kilgariff playing a child in an improv scene.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 7 Oct. 2022
But even if Brexit reflects Britain’s carefree pensioners—and some evidence suggests that despite being older, Brexit voters were stroppier than average—there is little sign of such an age effect elsewhere.
—The Economist, 11 July 2019
Indeed, a video on AS' website shows the marksman getting extremely stroppy when he is told to conduct some acceleration drills alone while his fellow players get on with another session.
—SI.com, 12 Oct. 2017
Dembele is allegedly refusing to return to Dortmund until the situation is resolved by all parties, but the German top flight outfit are standing firm over their stroppy star's stance.
—SI.com, 12 Aug. 2017
Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
All of a sudden the show’s main obsession, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, is no longer a stroppy teenager, and she’s no longer portrayed by Milly Alcock.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2022
Madison makes for a peculiar heroine; her performance as a realistically stroppy adolescent, in possession of a weariness and cynicism far beyond her years, recalls Karen Kilgariff playing a child in an improv scene.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 7 Oct. 2022
But even if Brexit reflects Britain’s carefree pensioners—and some evidence suggests that despite being older, Brexit voters were stroppier than average—there is little sign of such an age effect elsewhere.
—The Economist, 11 July 2019
Indeed, a video on AS' website shows the marksman getting extremely stroppy when he is told to conduct some acceleration drills alone while his fellow players get on with another session.
—SI.com, 12 Oct. 2017
Dembele is allegedly refusing to return to Dortmund until the situation is resolved by all parties, but the German top flight outfit are standing firm over their stroppy star's stance.
—SI.com, 12 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stroppy
Adjective
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While Harvey and Mike were the beating heart (and Jessica, the fearsome lioness) of Suits, the show’s ensemble formed its strong backbone: Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), Harvey’s petulant, heart-on-his-sleeve frenemy, became the kind of character audiences loved to hate, or even grew to love.—
Max Gao,
The Hollywood Reporter,
21 Feb. 2025
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His king is self-satisfied and perfectly petulant, dispatching orders, and often men’s lives, with gleaming disdain.—
David Benedict,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Cold exposure is particularly helpful for those who have irritable skin through the constriction of blood vessels, alleviating swelling and flushes.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
Newsweek,
24 Feb. 2025
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The elderly single mom, played with an irritable, bone-deep bitterness by Irish actor Fiona Shaw, has spent the past few years paralyzed by an illness no one can diagnose.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The best picture-winning boxing drama paired up-and-coming boxer Maggie (Hilary Swank) with grumpy reluctant coach Frankie (Clint Eastwood).—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
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The pair meet after the guy picks up a prescription for an extremely gnarly black eye, setting off a whirlwind romance that’s inevitably disrupted by — what else? — a grumpy parent.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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These irascible fish live on the intertidal mudflats of Roebuck Bay in Broome, Western Australia.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
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Others, like his irascible Celebrity Jeopardy standout Sean Connery, are the uncanny product of masterful tinkering, with Hammond eventually stretching the real and the perceived into a shape as recognizable as the actual figure himself.—
Dennis Perkins,
EW.com,
16 Feb. 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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Named Lija, the wary but winsome mutt — in fact played by the filmmaker’s own pet — is snappish and defensive when her wounds are first treated, only to slowly relent and relax in the face of genuine tenderness.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2025
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The film’s co-star, Diane Kruger, plays several roles, notably Karsh’s late wife (seen in flashback) and her snappish veterinarian-turned-dog-groomer sister.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
20 May 2024
Adjective
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Rojas’s recollections weren’t peevish—fine work was produced under these conditions.—
Ian Parker,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
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The songs are muscular and syncretic as ever, but the normally peevish rapper doesn’t maintain his trolling energy for the full record, settling into a questioning and pensive pace.—
Stephen Kearse,
TIME,
8 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Patrick is crotchety and dismissive of their overtures at first, but Bob and Jean talk him around with their passionate belief in the project and intriguing early research.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
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There are no shaky limbs in Wolfs, though there are some creaky joints, and an Advil joke—because aches and pains are a thing men can joke about, charmingly, while women who do the same run the risk of coming off as crotchety old complainers.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
20 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Stroppy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stroppy. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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