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cantankerous

adjective

kan-ˈtaŋ-k(ə-)rəs How to pronounce cantankerous (audio)
Definition of cantankerousnext
as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper a cantankerous old woman who insisted that nothing should ever be allowed to change

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of cantankerous The source of Soloviev’s angst lay in part in growing up with a father who was one of the more imposing, cantankerous figures in the history of New York real estate — a demographic with stiff competition. — Reeves Wiedeman, Curbed, 22 June 2026 For others, his cantankerous nature can be grating. — Elias Burke, New York Times, 21 June 2026 Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman Both DeVito and Perlman starred in Burrows sitcoms, DeVito as the cantankerous dispatcher Louie De Palma on Taxi and Pearlman the equally acerbic waitress Carla on Cheers. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 June 2026 The cantankerous Jackson Lamb is back in a first look at season six of Slow Horses. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for cantankerous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cantankerous
  1. irritable
  2. angry
  3. ornery
  4. surly
  5. disagreeable
  6. dyspeptic
  7. splenetic
  8. bilious
Adjective
  • If a relative or housemate seems irritable, ask what’s going on instead of working around the mood.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
  • As the fascination with Ernetti grows into something unhealthy, Béatrice subtly grows more tired, more distracted, more irritable and desperate for answers, small changes Sellier conveys with a smart sense of restraint.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • Now a new Cherry Orchard, the work of another Australian auteur, Simon Stone, has put down roots in the cavernous drill hall of the Park Avenue Armory, and the angry young tutor goes even further.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Punk rock has always been tied to the idea that both artists and listeners are angry — frustrated with the system, furious at injustice.
    — Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • But however janky, the system just about works for the ornery menfolk muddling their way through it, with their many beefs mostly resolved with a bottle of lethally alcoholic local tipple chacha, or a punch to the face, or both.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The new movie follows a benevolent ex-pilot named Hig (Jacob Elordi) who, after losing his wife during a catastrophic global pandemic, lives out in the wilderness with his dog, Jasper, and ornery isolationist pal Bangley (Josh Brolin).
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of ornery
Adjective
  • The normally surly Super Bowl winning head coach has been known to chew up and spit out even the most veteran of sideline reporters, even while his team is eviscerating the competition.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The United States is now a reluctant international donor and a surly member of key international organizations.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of surly
Adjective
  • Mistaking being disagreeable with the act of disagreeing is common - especially in unsafe psychological workplaces.
    — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • Govan might prevail on Lucas to join as well, as an idiosyncratic and dyspeptic if public-minded voice.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Definition of dyspeptic
Adjective
  • Still, the internet nurtures these Hobbesian, splenetic views.
    — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026
  • Meanwhile, the commentator and controversialist Piers Morgan, an obsessively close observer and relentless critic of Meghan, inevitably waded in with his usual splenetic views.
    — Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022
Definition of splenetic
Adjective
  • Look the steady coarsening of American civic and political culture and the ways in which the once-outrageous—the bilious, hateful rhetoric and the creeping authoritarianism—have become almost ordinary.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
  • Minaj’s bilious flurry is possibly related to claims that she is owed between $100 to 200 million related to her stake in Tidal, the music streaming service launched and spearheaded by Jay-Z in 2015 and was sold to Jack Dorsey’s company Square for $297 million in 2021.
    — Andrew Flanagan, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Definition of bilious

Browse Nearby Words

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cantankerous
cantankerousness
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Cite this Entry

“Cantankerous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cantankerous. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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