crankier; crankiest
1
a
: given to fretful fussiness : readily angered when opposed : crotchety
Our long wait … left us a tad cranky.Connecticut
b
: marked by eccentricity
… his bizarre and cranky mix of ideas and beliefs …R. J. Evans
2
: full of twists and turns : tortuous
a cranky road
3
: working erratically : unpredictable
a cranky old tractor
4
dialect : silly, eccentric
crankily adverb
crankiness noun

cranky

2 of 2

adjective (2)

of a boat

Examples of cranky in a Sentence

Adjective (1) that old typewriter is handy sometimes, but rather cranky these days the baby was cranky after not being fed for hours if cranky children don't appreciate what they already have, then they shouldn't get a thing more that's just another of his cranky theories about the CIA the man would inflict on innocent bystanders his cranky ruminations on world events
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The late Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, who could be pretty cranky himself about various aspects of the Dead’s world, music, and culture, had no issues acknowledging Lesh’s presence. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2024 He's depicted in Saturday Night in all his cranky glory by The Americans' Matthew Rhys. Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 27 Sep. 2024 In the present day, his cranky, gray-haired father (played by a cranky, gray-haired Kevin Kline) is stalking the adult Ravenscroft (Blanchett) to exact revenge for what happened to her son all those 20 years ago in Italy. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2024 Schiff was Toby Ziegler, the cranky Communications Director, who is often seen as Bartlet’s liberal conscious and author of his major speeches, before he is fired from the administration in later seasons for leaking classified information about a secret space shuttle. Peter White, Deadline, 15 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cranky 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cranky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective (1)

crank entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

1821, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective (2)

1841, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cranky was in 1821

Dictionary Entries Near cranky

Cite this Entry

“Cranky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cranky. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

cranky

adjective
ˈkraŋ-kē
crankier; crankiest
1
: easily angered or irritated
2
: hard to handle
a cranky boat
crankiness
-kē-nəs
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on cranky

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