Synonyms of cranky

cranky

adjective

ˈkraŋ-kē 

1

as in clumsy

difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design

that old typewriter is handy sometimes, but rather cranky these days

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clumsy
• awkward
• cumbersome
• unwieldy
• clunky
• ponderous
• ungainly
• heavy
• unhandy
• cumbrous
• uncontrollable
• bunglesome
• impractical
• unmanageable
• massive
• bulky
• dinosauric
• elephantine
• impracticable
• hulking
• dinosaurian

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• useful
• practical
• functional
• handy
• practicable
• serviceable

2

as in irritable

easily irritated or annoyed

the baby was cranky after not being fed for hours

Synonyms & Similar Words

• irritable
• fiery
• grumpy
• grouchy
• irascible
• crabby
• snappish
• peevish
• crotchety
• petulant
• testy
• cross
• snarky
• waspish
• snippy
• choleric
• pettish
• short-tempered
• passionate
• raspy
• stuffy
• out of humor
• out of sorts
• sensitive
• ornery
• cantankerous
• ratty
• prickly
• quick-tempered
• curmudgeonly
• perverse
• short
• querulous
• surly
• contentious
• dyspeptic
• snarly
• disagreeable
• snippety
• fretful
• bilious
• snappy
• belligerent
• argumentative
• combative
• pugnacious
• sulky
• tetchy
• bellicose
• ill-tempered
• quarrelsome
• fractious
• sullen
• truculent
• pouty
• ill-humored
• huffy
• ill-natured
• bearish
• off-colored
• scrappy
• disputatious
• touchy
• cross-grained
• off-color
• thin-skinned
• hot-blooded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• friendly
• affable
• gregarious
• outgoing
• cordial
• genial
• sociable
• sweet
• amiable
• extroverted
• companionable
• extraverted
• good-natured
• agreeable
• easygoing
• carefree
• relaxed
• patient
• good-tempered
• tolerant
• stoic
• well-disposed
• stoical
• long-suffering
• uncomplaining
• forbearing
• understanding
• obliging
• happy-go-lucky

3

as in restless

given to complaining a lot

if cranky children don't appreciate what they already have, then they shouldn't get a thing more

Synonyms & Similar Words

• restless
• grumpy
• irritable
• grouchy
• crabby
• querulous
• nervous
• displeased
• dissatisfied
• fussy
• uneasy
• fidgety
• disgruntled
• twitchy
• squirmy
• wiggly
• discontented
• restive
• fretful
• antsy
• ornery
• cantankerous
• irascible
• peevish
• snappish
• petulant
• crotchety
• wriggly
• testy
• worrisome
• cross
• waspish
• snippy
• choleric
• pettish
• short-tempered
• perverse
• quick-tempered
• snappy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• patient
• tolerant
• stoical
• stoic
• long-suffering
• uncomplaining
• forbearing
• amiable
• good-natured
• gracious
• agreeable
• affable
• good-humored
• genial
• complaisant
• good-tempered
• accommodating
• obliging
• well-disposed
• easygoing
• relaxed
• laid-back

4

as in funny

different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion

that's just another of his cranky theories about the CIA

Synonyms & Similar Words

• funny
• bizarre
• strange
• weird
• curious
• erratic
• odd
• peculiar
• crazy
• eccentric
• remarkable
• unusual
• abnormal
• quirky
• screwy
• funky
• wacky
• kinky
• whacky
• kooky
• off-the-wall
• unique
• wild
• quaint
• offbeat
• outlandish
• out-of-the-way
• weirdo
• queer
• fantastical
• uncommon
• unconventional
• rare
• kookie
• outré
• rum
• outrageous
• off-kilter
• queerish
• flaky
• way-out
• far-out
• spaced-out
• extraordinary
• bizarro
• freak
• fantastic
• outstanding
• freaky
• noticeable
• freakish
• shocking
• aberrant
• crotchety
• prominent
• atypical
• conspicuous
• striking
• phenomenal
• salient
• notable
• idiosyncratic
• phantasmagoric
• singular
• out-there
• puzzling
• unwonted
• perplexing
• phantasmagorical
• baffling
• addlepated
• nonconformist
• atrocious
• confounding
• unorthodox
• bewildering
• uncustomary
• mystifying
• nonmainstream

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• normal
• usual
• typical
• ordinary
• average
• routine
• standard
• prosaic
• everyday
• conservative
• commonplace
• garden
• conventional
• familiar
• unremarkable
• predictable
• run-of-the-mill
• unexceptional
• workaday
• conformist
• frequent
• regular
• common
• expected
• habitual
• customary
• knee-jerk
• wonted

5

as in psychotic

dialect having or showing a very abnormal or sick state of mind

the man would inflict on innocent bystanders his cranky ruminations on world events

Synonyms & Similar Words

• psychotic
• mad
• lunatic
• insane
• nuts
• crazy
• maniacal
• paranoid
• maniac
• mental
• gaga
• crazed
• disturbed
• psycho
• paranoidal
• deranged
• whacky
• demented
• looney
• whacko
• unbalanced
• unhinged
• depressed
• strange
• eccentric
• cracked
• wacko
• screwy
• nutty
• irrational
• loony
• cuckoo
• scatty
• batty
• wacky
• kooky
• daffy
• daft
• haywire
• ballistic
• moonstruck
• around the bend
• odd
• crackbrained
• bedlam
• meshuga
• certifiable
• loony tunes
• unreasonable
• foolish
• obsessed
• distraught
• crackpot
• non compos mentis
• kookie
• distracted
• barmy
• bonkers
• neurotic
• loco
• out to lunch
• brainsick
• hysteric
• unsound
• bats
• bughouse
• meshugah
• tetched
• balmy
• frantic
• looney tunes
• loopy
• fey
• hysterical
• meshuggah
• meshugge
• fruity
• schizophrenic
• delirious
• paranoic
• queer
• crackers
• schizoid
• off
• sociopathic
• obsessive-compulsive
• delusional
• paranoiac
• oddball
• disordered
• dotty
• out of one's mind
• wud
• off one's rocker
• delusionary
• off one's gourd
• aberrant
• touched
• pixillated
• off one's head
• pixilated
• out of one's head
• nuclear
• witless
• berserk
• potty
• wigged-out
• raving
• amuck
• monomaniacal
• frenzied
• ape
• fixated
• senseless
• monomaniac
• teched
• amok
• bananas

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sound
• sane
• balanced
• reasonable
• rational
• clear
• wise
• normal
• lucid
• sensible
• compos mentis
• judicious
• uncrazy
• healthy
• well-adjusted
• unneurotic

Examples of cranky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What's more, an infant or toddler who's teething can be cranky and want to nurse more often than usual for comfort. —Donna Murray, Rn, Parents, 16 July 2024

Electing a cranky Vermont socialist to be president of the United States had always been a moon shot, anyway. —Harper's Magazine, 21 June 2024

Similarly, maybe jumping into the pool fully clothed was my dad’s way of jolting cranky kids out of their moods with a laugh at the absurdity. —Madeline Holcombe, CNN, 18 July 2024

There’s no shortage of words that have been used over the years to describe Frank Lloyd Wright: brilliant, arrogant, unrivaled, cranky, inspiring, scandalous, or legendary, just to name some. —Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 17 July 2024