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
Music writers used to have a reputation for being much crankier than the average listener.
—
David Remnick, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2025
The experts think fiat money is mature and serious and the gold standard cranky, weird, and atavistic.
—Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
It’s spoken by Jaques, a cranky courtier from the entourage of Duke Senior, living in banishment in the Forest of Arden.
—Matthew Gurewitsch, Air Mail, 16 Aug. 2025
Don’t be cranky, but don’t be timid, either.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cranky
David Remnick, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2025
The experts think fiat money is mature and serious and the gold standard cranky, weird, and atavistic.
—Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
It’s spoken by Jaques, a cranky courtier from the entourage of Duke Senior, living in banishment in the Forest of Arden.
—Matthew Gurewitsch, Air Mail, 16 Aug. 2025
Don’t be cranky, but don’t be timid, either.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cranky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cranky
Adjective
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Arturs Silovs looked a bit clumsy in the first period and his rebound control was less than stellar.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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Actually, Alma does suffer from ulcers, which cause her extraordinary stomach pain and vomiting at inconvenient moments, and cause viewers to wonder not if but when such clumsy symbolic traits will be trotted out in the future.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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However, the Moon is at odds with Mars, encouraging grumpy and irritable reactions.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
15 Oct. 2025
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However, such symptoms are hard to attribute to vaccines because infants can be irritable or fussy regardless of vaccination.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC news,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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That election, which will select members of Iraq's 329-seat parliament, comes amid rising unemployment, which continues to weigh on Iraq's young and restless population.—
Emma Graham,
CNBC,
15 Oct. 2025
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An impressive four-game winning streak followed a lopsided loss at Wazzu that had some natives not just restless but greasing skids and sharpening pitchforks.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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His writing is lavishly detailed and sharply intelligent, nuanced and lyrical but also funny and sometimes surreal.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
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The dudes-rock montage that followed the execution sketch had some genuinely funny bits.—
T. M. Brown,
New Yorker,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In all of the courses, the pedagogy is an awkward pastiche of traditions, combining Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Slavic paganism, Siberian shamanism, and Asian spiritual practices, spiked with elements of Jungian and American pop psychology.—
Julia Ioffe,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
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Pignato shared a scene from a recent consult with a rival company that wanted advice on how to bring AI into its engineering workflow, and an awkward generational mismatch.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But, wishes aside, Patterson was cast as Danes, the grumpy but kindhearted diner owner at the heart of the show’s romance between his character and Lauren Graham’s Lorelai Gilmore.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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However, the Moon is at odds with Mars, encouraging grumpy and irritable reactions.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In the film, Credenza runs the bizarre amusement park of Twitlandia alongside her husband — delighting in dirty pranks, filth and cruelty along the way.—
Jane LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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However, an anonymous NFL general manager has urged the team to target a bizarre position instead.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Like the cumbersome, omnipresent sheriff's duty belt, complete with handgun, handcuffs and the works.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
16 Oct. 2025
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The results are incredibly detailed, although the accessory is cumbersome.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cranky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cranky. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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