1
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
a crabby old dog who snapped at passersby
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in restless
given to complaining a lot
a bunch of crabby kids who don't want to do any work
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crabby
Attend the Fiddler Crab Festival Every February over Presidents’ Day weekend, the three-day Fiddler Crab Festival brings crabby fun and community pride to Steinhatchee.
—
Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 5 July 2025
Her dissatisfaction with her crabby old husband drives her into the same state of amorous turmoil that Vanya and Sonya find themselves in.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
Read the full Aries Daily Horoscope Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
In a crabby mood?
—USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
Take the Lishman’s Deli sketch, in which Murphy’s Gumby character — the green clay stop-motion figure reimagined as a crabby Borscht Belt has-been — trades insults with a gang of alter kockers played by Crystal, Guest and Short, who reminisce and argue about sandwiches named for celebrities.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crabby
Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 5 July 2025
Her dissatisfaction with her crabby old husband drives her into the same state of amorous turmoil that Vanya and Sonya find themselves in.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2025
Read the full Aries Daily Horoscope Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
In a crabby mood?
—USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
Take the Lishman’s Deli sketch, in which Murphy’s Gumby character — the green clay stop-motion figure reimagined as a crabby Borscht Belt has-been — trades insults with a gang of alter kockers played by Crystal, Guest and Short, who reminisce and argue about sandwiches named for celebrities.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crabby
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crabby
Adjective
-
Even Adam’s irritable female boss, Suzie (Sasheer Zamata), hides under a people-pleasing mask.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
-
That’s because the Moon is at odds with Mars today and everyone is irritable.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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The fans are getting restless and exceedingly tired of watching the same story unfold day after day.—
Sahadev Sharma,
New York Times,
5 June 2026
-
Of course, an occasional restless night may not be cause for concern, and most people experience them from time to time.—
Sharon Brandwein,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
That Utah rideshare driver, however, was justifiable more grouchy.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Flockhart is equally supportive of Ford, having expressed her joy at watching her husband’s performance as the grouchy, oft-deadpan therapist.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In Kennedy’s original series, Dean and Allie’s love story happens in Book Three, The Score, after the follow-up book The Mistake, which tracks the grumpy sunshine romance of John Logan (Antonio Cipriano) and Grace Ivers (India Fowler).—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
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Their season has been busy, grumpy and overstretched, and pressure has been a niggling, constant companion, particularly at home, but their opponents on Sunday were hapless, soft in defence and muddled in their thinking.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
Adjective
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Such displeased denizens might appreciate Bar Snack, a cocktail lounge that was recently named one of the country’s best new bars.—
Dan Stahl,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
-
Reunion host Andy Cohen was displeased in a Threads post.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Dennis’s new poems are still conversational, philosophical, sometimes preachy, and cranky, and there is a fresh kind of transcendence here, one that has almost forgotten about disappointment.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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Two of the crankiest cultures in the world coming together in a commuting catastrophe.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
The American right, too, is in a shifting, querulous state.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
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In fact, the B-2 bombers were still in the air with hours to go before reaching home when Van Hollen issued his querulous statement.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Spinella shucks off sentimentality, always showing us Con’s offhand humor and sometimes nervous, defensive rambling.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
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Companies start to get nervous when the percentage of shareholders blessing their pay plans dips well below the average, which is slightly above 90%, said Elizabeth Bieber, partner at the law firm Freshfields who leads shareholder engagement.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crabby. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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