crabbed

adjective

crab·​bed ˈkra-bəd How to pronounce crabbed (audio)
1
: marked by a forbidding moroseness
a crabbed view of human nature
2
: difficult to read or understand
crabbed handwriting
crabbedness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for crabbed

sullen, glum, morose, surly, sulky, crabbed, saturnine, gloomy mean showing a forbidding or disagreeable mood.

sullen implies a silent ill humor and a refusal to be sociable.

remained sullen amid the festivities

glum suggests a silent dispiritedness.

a glum candidate left to ponder a stunning defeat

morose adds to glum an element of bitterness or misanthropy.

morose job seekers who are inured to rejection

surly implies gruffness and sullenness of speech or manner.

a typical surly teenager

sulky suggests childish resentment expressed in peevish sullenness.

grew sulky after every spat

crabbed applies to a forbidding morose harshness of manner.

the school's notoriously crabbed headmaster

saturnine describes a heavy forbidding aspect or suggests a bitter disposition.

a saturnine cynic always finding fault

gloomy implies a depression in mood making for seeming sullenness or glumness.

a gloomy mood ushered in by bad news

Examples of crabbed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, partly from crabbe crustacean, partly from crabbe crab apple

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of crabbed was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crabbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crabbed. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

crabbed

adjective
crab·​bed ˈkrab-əd How to pronounce crabbed (audio)
1
2
: difficult to read or understand
crabbed handwriting
crabbedness noun

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