1
as in crab
an irritable and complaining person
he's always a crank until he has his morning coffee
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in eccentric
a person of odd or whimsical habits
she's a bit of a crank, but still a good-hearted person
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in whim
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action
his endless and unpredictable cranks made spending time with him exhausting
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in triumphant
having or expressing feelings of joy or triumph
you shouldn't feel so crank, considering that you beat the worst softball team in the league
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in joyful
joyously unrestrained
folks around here are downright crank that a local boy won a gold medal in the Olympics
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crank
New Atlas, 22 Nov. 2025
Torque and cadence sensors at the crank measure how hard and how fast the rider pedals.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Nov. 2025
Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
As temperatures around the state continue to drop, you may be tempted to crank up your thermostat to battle the cold.
—Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crank
Noun
Perhaps the base of the U is a gear system connecting the cranks at one end.
—New Atlas, 22 Nov. 2025
Torque and cadence sensors at the crank measure how hard and how fast the rider pedals.
—IEEE Spectrum, 18 Nov. 2025
Verb
But Europe is also looking for ways to crank the pressure on Russia and strengthen Ukraine's negotiating position as Moscow's forces advance on the battlefield—and the assets have the potential to be powerful leverage.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
As temperatures around the state continue to drop, you may be tempted to crank up your thermostat to battle the cold.
—Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crank
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crank
Noun
-
Take, for example, a bowl of artichoke purée poured around a hillock of tender Jonah crab.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Long before food trucks, enterprising business types began selling devil crab on-the-go from their motor scooters and bicycles equipped with insulated carriers.—
Susan B. Barnes,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Also, Joan Cusack plays an infamous local eccentric, and a fictional pop star shows up!—
Mary Sollosi,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Dec. 2025
-
The logger and railsplitter occasionally encounters American eccentrics, like a chatty drifter prone to sporting bible verses and an old coot of a demolitions expert with a philosophical bent.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
23 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The Treasury market tends to move with the whims of Wall Street and not in lockstep with Fed policy.—
Greg Iacurci,Jessica Dickler,
CNBC,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Hidden away from the rest of the first floor action, the primary bedroom was a place for Cece to indulge her most personal decorating whims.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In the latest episode of the Fortune Crypto Playbook podcast—available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube—finance editor Jeff John Roberts and senior reporter Leo Schwartz discuss what this year will mean for the industry after its triumphant 2025.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The Olympic medalist made a triumphant return to the mat for her senior year at UCLA — and opened the NCAA gymnastics season with a near-perfect performance seemingly inspired by her time on Dancing with the Stars.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Horses that smelled the fear samples touched the experimenter less than those in a control group or those that smelled joyful sweat samples.—
Marta Hill,
Scientific American,
14 Jan. 2026
-
That's described by people who were very frustrated with them in court transcripts, and that is also described in their text, but in a different way, as something joyful and wonderful.—
Mike Miller,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The winding two-lane roadway reopened at noon Wednesday, allowing motorists to drive along the coast the entire way from the Bay Area to Southern California for the first time in three years.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Originally built as a carriage road during the 1880s, the long and winding road takes you from downtown Hot Springs (just off Central Avenue at the end of Fountain Street) to a lovely picnic area and overlook featuring a historic pagoda that dates back to the early 1900s.—
Alex Schechter,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The individual, who lives less than half a mile from where a bear stayed under another person’s home for six weeks, did not want to be identified or disclose their exact location.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Unfortunately, California’s laws are more like gummy bears than bear traps, barely a slap on the wrist compared to federal and Florida anti-brokering laws that come with the threat of stiff financial penalties and serious prison time.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
However, some seeds, nuts, and dark chocolate contain more.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Use olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocado as primary fat sources.—
Brittany Poulson,
Verywell Health,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crank.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crank. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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