as in crab
an irritable and complaining person
only a curmudgeon would object to the nursing home's holiday decorations
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of curmudgeon
Those typically involve a winning team, which can forge indelible memories in the biggest curmudgeons among us.
—
Chris Branch, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
The Academy loves a movie star, and the veteran actor brings charm and humor to what could have been a throwaway curmudgeon role.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
As a boss, Canby was exceptionally kind and protective, a joyful curmudgeon.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Nostalgic curmudgeons will tell you the food’s gone downhill, but the wings taste better than ever.
—Jay Deitcher, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curmudgeon
Chris Branch, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
The Academy loves a movie star, and the veteran actor brings charm and humor to what could have been a throwaway curmudgeon role.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
As a boss, Canby was exceptionally kind and protective, a joyful curmudgeon.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Nostalgic curmudgeons will tell you the food’s gone downhill, but the wings taste better than ever.
—Jay Deitcher, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curmudgeon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curmudgeon
Noun
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Take, for example, a bowl of artichoke purée poured around a hillock of tender Jonah crab.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Long before food trucks, enterprising business types began selling devil crab on-the-go from their motor scooters and bicycles equipped with insulated carriers.—
Susan B. Barnes,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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If family needs cause drama, set kind boundaries and explain them to any complainers.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
2 Jan. 2026
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The faculty experience has been that administrations often side with the complainers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The individual, who lives less than half a mile from where a bear stayed under another person’s home for six weeks, did not want to be identified or disclose their exact location.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
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Unfortunately, California’s laws are more like gummy bears than bear traps, barely a slap on the wrist compared to federal and Florida anti-brokering laws that come with the threat of stiff financial penalties and serious prison time.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Arriving in period 1920s dress, bowler hat and leather vest in place, Correll prepared to turn the crank on his ’14 Model T, fully aware of how the term chauffeur fracture came to be.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Jan. 2026
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On Sundays after church, my family would pile into our crank-window GMC truck and head to Kentucky Fried Chicken.—
Annie Joy Williams,
The Atlantic,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The iconic Christmas grump, who has become a seasonal favorite at Universal theme parks for his lack of holiday spirit and acerbic banter, initially greeted the little girl in his signature gruff delivery.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
10 Dec. 2025
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Then again, being a grump is Payton's brand.—
Matt Schubert,
Denver Post,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Curmudgeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curmudgeon. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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