cross-grained

adjective

Definition of cross-grainednext
as in cantankerous

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cross-grained
  1. cantankerous
  2. disagreeable
  3. querulous
  4. bilious
  5. dyspeptic
  6. ornery
  7. surly
  8. irascible
Adjective
  • Close plays Maud Oldcastle, a cantankerous older woman who’s spent her life caring for her sister, and killing people.
    — Emily Longeretta, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • She is described as brusque, cantankerous, ruthless — and also a killer.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • Mistaking being disagreeable with the act of disagreeing is common - especially in unsafe psychological workplaces.
    — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • The American right, too, is in a shifting, querulous state.
    — Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026
  • In fact, the B-2 bombers were still in the air with hours to go before reaching home when Van Hollen issued his querulous statement.
    — Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
Definition of querulous
Adjective
  • Ready to Wear, the bilious bomb of a film in which Robert Altman took aim at the fashion industry with an elephant gun—and missed.
    — Charles Gandee, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Look the steady coarsening of American civic and political culture and the ways in which the once-outrageous—the bilious, hateful rhetoric and the creeping authoritarianism—have become almost ordinary.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
Definition of bilious
Adjective
  • Once upon a time, the idea that the world was growing stupider was mostly confined to the realm of dyspeptic reactionary polemic.
    — James Marriott, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Govan might prevail on Lucas to join as well, as an idiosyncratic and dyspeptic if public-minded voice.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of dyspeptic
Adjective
  • White and Madison are sort of like Tom Cruise and Demi Moore, building a mountain of evidence against the company, while Strong is playing an ornery witness a la Jack Nicholson.
    — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But however janky, the system just about works for the ornery menfolk muddling their way through it, with their many beefs mostly resolved with a bottle of lethally alcoholic local tipple chacha, or a punch to the face, or both.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of ornery
Adjective
  • The normally surly Super Bowl winning head coach has been known to chew up and spit out even the most veteran of sideline reporters, even while his team is eviscerating the competition.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The United States is now a reluctant international donor and a surly member of key international organizations.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of surly
Adjective
  • The irascible Atmane then took his frustrations out on the net, smashing his racket on the net cord three times.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Well, as much as one of the league’s biggest personalities and irascible players can blend in.
    — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of irascible
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

cross fires
cross-grained
crossing
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Cite this Entry

“Cross-grained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cross-grained. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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