as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper
a cantankerous old woman who insisted that nothing should ever be allowed to change
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Recent Examples of cantankerous
Smith plays Hanna, a cantankerous nonagenarian, who patrols the Golden Gate Bridge every day and intervenes when people get too close to the edge.
—
Brent Lang, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
The story isn't linear and sometimes the character's main motivation can be reduced to the moodiness of cantankerous old men.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
This isn’t just the opinion of some cantankerous Boomers who want those pesky Gen-Z kids to turn down their loud music and get off the lawn; globally, study after study has demonstrated that Gen-Z has historically low financial literacy levels.
—Benjamin Van Der Lande, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
The cantankerous bird perked up — just like his plumage — when taken off public display.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cantankerous
Brent Lang, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
The story isn't linear and sometimes the character's main motivation can be reduced to the moodiness of cantankerous old men.
—Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
This isn’t just the opinion of some cantankerous Boomers who want those pesky Gen-Z kids to turn down their loud music and get off the lawn; globally, study after study has demonstrated that Gen-Z has historically low financial literacy levels.
—Benjamin Van Der Lande, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
The cantankerous bird perked up — just like his plumage — when taken off public display.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for cantankerous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cantankerous
Adjective
-
Emery was irritable at full time.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Additionally, Owens’ youngest child, Titus, who was just a toddler when his mother died, was confused, irritable and inconsolable in the weeks after her death, Dias shared.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Nick went to his grave angry The Citadel had let Marc play that day.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Good intentions, sure, but when is angry bipartisanship not going to be a part of the American culture?—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
At 0-2, the Chiefs may be a little more ornery than usual.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The goal is to capitalize on the holidays when kids will be out of school and eager to see some ornery avians.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Plaza joined the roster as police officer MG Falcone, Honey’s surly love interest.—
Luna Adler,
Vogue,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Linda hustles the two of them to a nearby motel whose only employees are a surly young goth attendant (a glowering Ivy Wolk) and a sympathetic, mildly flirty super (A$AP Rocky, laidback and breezy).—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Over the weekend, reports emerged that the higher tariffs followed a disagreeable Thursday phone call between Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and Trump — which Swiss officials rejected, according to Reuters.—
Sophie Kiderlin,Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
4 Aug. 2025
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Trump and his supporters prefer a happy history, a pleasant history that arouses patriotism by overlooking disagreeable people and despicable events that sully the nation’s reputation and mar the magnificence of the American story.—
William C. Hine,
Twin Cities,
23 July 2025
Adjective
-
But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.—
Stephen Galloway,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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
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And while there is enough splenetic wit and manic detail to generate obsessive fandom (entire sections of Web sites are dedicated to deciphering just what Kenny is mumbling), subjects like alien abduction, genetic engineering, and Kathie Lee are hardly original targets for satire.—
Chris Norris,
SPIN,
13 Aug. 2022
Adjective
-
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
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Even though his bloodwork looked normal six months previously, sudden onset or acute renal failure can happen in an old dog for no apparent reason other than age and result in bilious vomiting.—
Dr. John De Jong,
Boston Herald,
8 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cantankerous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cantankerous. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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