cross-grained

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cross-grained
Adjective
  • The story isn't linear and sometimes the character's main motivation can be reduced to the moodiness of cantankerous old men.
    Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
  • This isn’t just the opinion of some cantankerous Boomers who want those pesky Gen-Z kids to turn down their loud music and get off the lawn; globally, study after study has demonstrated that Gen-Z has historically low financial literacy levels.
    Benjamin van der Lande, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
Adjective
  • Befriending Cressida Cowper is a respectable exercise in recognizing biases, but the pair’s interactions are as disagreeable as those bangs.
    Zoe Haylock, Vulture, 16 May 2024
  • If Alex has a bit more credibility, not being as intractable in her positions, both have a tendency to come off as disagreeable in their incessant bickering and self-righteousness.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Trying to Kill Each Other' And Walken is marvelous — querulous, petty, cruel — as the Emperor.
    Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Instead, Gerwig and Baumbach promote querulous sloganeering.
    Armond White, National Review, 19 July 2023
Adjective
  • Even though his bloodwork looked normal six months previously, sudden onset or acute renal failure can happen in an old dog for no apparent reason other than age and result in bilious vomiting.
    Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 8 June 2025
  • Under Nézet-Séguin, the musicians do the job spectacularly, releasing all those bilious harmonies and seething rhythms in an unbroken two-hour spasm of excitement.
    Justin Davidson, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • That is, until an ornery cow named Daisy kicks over a lantern and ignites a fire that quickly engulfs the Windy City.
    EW Staff Published, EW.com, 3 July 2025
  • The outcome is a fire ant that has the strength and ornery disposition of the fiercer red fire ant with the better tolerance of colder temperatures found in black fire ants.
    Gareth McGrath, USA Today, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • This is exactly the productive, surly, still-in-his-prime player this team needs down the middle.
    Scott Powers, New York Times, 14 June 2025
  • Rostov is exiled to the servants’ quarters in the attic, stripped of most of his possessions, and is kept under constant surveillance by a surly KGB operative (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson).
    Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Toby Huss — who voiced the Hills' abrasive neighbor, Kahn, and Hank's irascible father, Cotton — will take over as the voice of Dale in subsequent episodes.
    Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 30 May 2025
  • Hence, in this digital age when many people no longer stock postage stamps or envelopes or have any idea where their nearest postal box might be, only the most irascible of curmudgeons would make the effort.
    Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2025
Adjective
  • Thousands of people — displaced by disaster, their past lives gone up in smoke — are hostage to the whims of a peevish president who always puts his feelings first and cares nothing for the greater good.
    Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2025
  • On a less peevish note: The entry is making its New York Times Crossword debut.
    Sam Corbin, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cross-grained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cross-grained. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!