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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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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
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
Two of the crankiest cultures in the world coming together in a commuting catastrophe.
—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Strangely, no one seems to notice until cranky, grieving widower Sam (Alfred Molina) moves in.
—
Maira Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
By the mid-1980s, King was both a prolific source of inspiration for major auteurs like Brian De Palma, Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, and John Carpenter, and an often cranky critic of their adaptations.
—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cranky
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
Two of the crankiest cultures in the world coming together in a commuting catastrophe.
—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Strangely, no one seems to notice until cranky, grieving widower Sam (Alfred Molina) moves in.
—
Maira Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
By the mid-1980s, King was both a prolific source of inspiration for major auteurs like Brian De Palma, Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, and John Carpenter, and an often cranky critic of their adaptations.
—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for cranky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cranky
Adjective
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This has, in many cases, led to some clumsy looking solutions at venues across North America.
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An early furor over accepting valuable gifts, including designer spectacles and Taylor Swift concert tickets, was followed by a series of policy U-turns, especially clumsy attempts to cut welfare spending that stirred anger in Labour ranks.
Adjective
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The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
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Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
Adjective
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Neither team has pressed forward with much conviction in the first 15 minutes, and after some back-and-forth passing on the back line of the Netherlands' defense, boos could be heard from restless spectators in Monterrey.
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Within a few restless months, the group of strangers have become a fragile family.
Adjective
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Watching improv is reliably funny because performers work without a script.
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But figuring out how to do all that while being funny at the same time?
Adjective
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Your 2nd House of Finances hits an awkward angle as the nurturing Moon quincunxes ambitious Mars in your 9th House of Travel and Learning.
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But that doesn’t mean there still aren’t some awkward moments.
Adjective
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Producer Barack Obama, who will also appear on the show, previously teased his collaboration with the famously grumpy and opinionated David.
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Ricky Gervais is his trademark grumpy self, just in cat form, at the beginning of the trailer for Netflix’s Alley Cats, the comic’s return to adult animation.
Adjective
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When Aaron Paul’s Jeff attempts to make a suspicious deposit, the bank teller (a game Nina Dobrev) demands to be in on the deal, in the sort of neo-noir twist that could suggest a rich film world populated with bizarre freaks of all stripes.
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In the canon of DC Comics, Comet is truly a bizarre character.
Adjective
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Those habits feel cumbersome when a technology is evolving by the month.
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That tendency, which may have been with us since the Stone Age, today serves the interests of our cumbersome friends in the Florida Everglades.
Cite this Entry
“Cranky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cranky. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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