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
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2
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
the baby was cranky after not being fed for hours
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cranky
And what of Morrison’s famously cranky reputation?
—
Brett Milano, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Thomas Jay Ryan was a funny, cranky Kramer, Will Brill a shrewd, amiable Fauci.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
Funny, pragmatic, sometimes cranky, always a little eccentric.
—Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Funny, pragmatic, sometimes cranky, always a little eccentric.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cranky
Brett Milano, Boston Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Thomas Jay Ryan was a funny, cranky Kramer, Will Brill a shrewd, amiable Fauci.
—Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
Funny, pragmatic, sometimes cranky, always a little eccentric.
—Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Funny, pragmatic, sometimes cranky, always a little eccentric.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cranky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cranky
Adjective
-
That makes the killers kind of human and fallible and clumsy, and these movies get a lot of mileage out of the slapstick shenanigans of their slasher chases.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Then, however, Phillips was sent off four minutes into the second half for a clumsy lunge at Svante Ingelsson, and suddenly Wednesday believed.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Rather than get irritable online, Medeiros did something positive about it.—
Dan Medeiros,
The Herald News,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Manic episodes are described as prolonged periods of mood instability, in which a person can experience extreme increases in energy or euphoria, or alternatively, feel depressed or unusually irritable.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But for Farelo, a restless artist who describes herself as endlessly curious, that was just the beginning.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The restless first movement does quite a variety of things with an underlying waltz rhythm.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Play With Bunny Ears That funny Easter bunny is certainly leaving his mark this year.—
Laura Fenton,
Parents,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Her moment of realization was heart-wrenching (and funny) and turned both into reality-TV heavyweights.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Our awkward hero copes with grief through humor while navigating relationships with her type-A sister (Sian Clifford), her nasty stepmother (Olivia Colman), and, in season 2, a hot priest (Andrew Scott).—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Mar. 2026
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This profound snow drought comes at an especially awkward time, compounding a quarter-century of regional aridification that has drained the nation’s two largest reservoirs to precarious depths.—
Brandon Loomis,
AZCentral.com,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
If your child acts grumpy and tired after school, wait to ask them how their day was.—
Margery D. Rosen,
Parents,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Morgan Freeman, 'Million Dollar Baby' (2005) The best picture-winning boxing drama paired up-and-coming boxer Maggie (Hilary Swank) with grumpy reluctant coach Frankie (Clint Eastwood).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The eccentric cast of characters around him match his energy nicely, particularly McGinley's genuinely bizarre Walter, whose manic energy is a frequent source of humor.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
8 Mar. 2026
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Sometimes football throws up these bizarre twists of fate.—
Chris McKenna,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Yoav Gallant, then the country's defense minister, believed that arrangement was too cumbersome.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
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Without enough staff, the distribution of Measure W funds will be cumbersome and slow while the fund accumulates taxes through 2031.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cranky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cranky. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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