cantankerousness

noun

Definition of cantankerousnessnext
as in orneriness

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cantankerousness
  1. surliness
  2. grouchiness
  3. testiness
  4. crankiness
  5. petulance
  6. grumpiness
  7. irritability
  8. crustiness
Noun
  • Despite Nora’s initial surliness, Alice wins her over a bit by offering her blazer to a young witness who is supposed to appear in court the next day.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 27 July 2026
  • Dani’s surliness has evaporated.
    — Harpers Magazine, Harpers Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
Definition of surliness
Noun
  • Vince Gilligan moved to Apple and returned to his X-Files roots for the sci-fi horror dramatic comedy Pluribus, which used its ultra-mysterious and yet ultra-familiar genre trappings for a droll meditation on the eternal clash between collective joy and individual grouchiness.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025
  • Emily is also struggling with Annabelle, who has inherited her mom’s attitude and the grouchiness of any adolescent forced to grow up with an Evolution Media camera crew in her home.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025
Definition of grouchiness
Noun
  • The Warriors trailed by 11 points after a first quarter notable mostly for some late Golden State testiness.
    — Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Jan. 2026
  • Corbett said the testiness started in Florida and returned with the team to Charlotte.
    — Joseph Person, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Definition of testiness
Noun
  • How to handle it A lot of Virgo’s crankiness can be soothed with helping them get organized and practice self-compassion.
    — Maressa Brown, Parents, 18 June 2026
  • Bumping into someone wasn’t met with frustration, but with a grin and a comment about the Knicks, as if the entire city had agreed to give each other a pass from the stereotypical crankiness for one single night.
    — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 14 June 2026
Definition of crankiness
Noun
  • France’s challenges came from external provocation, first the petulance of the Paraguayan team, but then comments widely condemned as racist by a Paraguayan politician.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 16 July 2026
  • Such petulance does not merit responsible high public office.
    — Letters to the Editor, Hartford Courant, 15 June 2026
Definition of petulance
Noun
  • Newcastle just about hauled themselves back from the precipice, but this has been a faith-shaker of a season and, at times, grumpiness has set in.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 May 2026
  • Allowing your child to sleep as normal will prevent grumpiness and diminish jet lag.
    — Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Feb. 2017
Definition of grumpiness
Noun
  • This could, in turn, trigger feelings of restlessness and irritability, not to mention the lack of clarity brought on by the moon transiting this Water sign.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Capsaicin, the natural chemical compound in chili peppers, can cause severe irritability in a feline's gastrointestinal system.
    — Pat Mueller, USA Today, 28 July 2026
Definition of irritability
Noun
  • There’s probably not much of a mystery bubbling around the pizza plaza’s sudden crustiness toward the Super Bowl.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Use disposable products like gauze or cotton swabs to gently remove build-up or crustiness.
    — Sherri Gordon, Health, 24 Oct. 2025
Definition of crustiness
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.

Browse Nearby Words

cantankerous
cantankerousness
cantata
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cantankerousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cantankerousness. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All