as in cantankerous
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cross-grained
Adjective
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Lori Tan Chinn charms as a cantankerous Chinatown grandmother, while Jamie Lee Curtis makes a memorable meal of her single scene as a mob boss.—
Beandrea July,
IndieWire,
28 Jan. 2026 -
Ornery, bizarre, cantankerous, brilliant, talented, stubborn—all characters from our lives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Like most who have their disagreements with Looney, the governor rarely finds Looney personally disagreeable.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
2 Feb. 2026
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Each time Trump changes the subject, the new subject somehow manages to be more disagreeable than the last.—
Matt K. Lewis,
Washington Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This canonical part has been played by some of the foremost women of the British stage, among them Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Edith Evans, who, in Anthony Asquith’s 1952 film adaptation, put a delightfully querulous spin on Lady Bracknell’s most indelible lines.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
17 Nov. 2025
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Trying to Kill Each Other' And Walken is marvelous — querulous, petty, cruel — as the Emperor.—
Tom Gliatto,
Peoplemag,
29 Feb. 2024
Adjective
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Sun shrinking and getting hotter; everything bilious, oxygenless, not great for living.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Minaj’s bilious flurry is possibly related to claims that she is owed between $100 to 200 million related to her stake in Tidal, the music streaming service launched and spearheaded by Jay-Z in 2015 and was sold to Jack Dorsey’s company Square for $297 million in 2021.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
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But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.—
Stephen Galloway,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But Duvall rose to prominence the next decade, first as the ornery Major Frank Burns in the 1970 antiwar comedy M*A*S*H, reuniting with Robert Altman, who’d previously cast him in 1967’s Countdown.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
16 Feb. 2026
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This bag is a high-capacity workhorse, with plenty of organization features, tough materials that can handle ornery baggage handlers, and smooth-rolling wheels for pain-free airport navigation.—
Outside,
Outside,
12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Mandating a coach keep a coordinator, particularly one with Schwartz’s surly reputation, seems counterintuitive — particularly to a young, first-time coach such as Scheelhaase.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
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Screenwriters Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines weave subtle humor — and more overt racial politics — into the way the surly group engage with one another.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The shows were appointment listening because one never knew who or what might set off with the irascible former Bears coach.—
Phil Rosenthal,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
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Under David Ellenstein’s direction, the production stars North Coast Rep veteran James Sutorius as the fading but humorously irascible Steven.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Cross-grained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cross-grained. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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