1
: marked by a forbidding moroseness
a crabbed view of human nature
2
: difficult to read or understand
crabbed handwriting
crabbedness
noun
Examples of crabbed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This is a crabbed and mendacious interpretation of the law.
—
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Tár, though, displays little more than crabbed irritability and self-serving cynicism.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2022
No one can accuse this Court of having a crabbed view of the reach of its competence.
—WSJ, 27 June 2019
The core error here is the Texas Supreme Court’s crabbed understanding of Obergefell.
—Dale Carpenter, Washington Post, 2 July 2017
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Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Tár, though, displays little more than crabbed irritability and self-serving cynicism.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2022
No one can accuse this Court of having a crabbed view of the reach of its competence.
—WSJ, 27 June 2019
The core error here is the Texas Supreme Court’s crabbed understanding of Obergefell.
—Dale Carpenter, Washington Post, 2 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“Crabbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crabbed. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crabbed
adjective
crab·bed
ˈkrab-əd 
2
: difficult to read or understand
crabbed handwriting
crabbedness
noun
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