curmudgeonly

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of curmudgeonly Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb in the series, the curmudgeonly and flatulent chief of Slough House where all the MI5 misfits are sent. Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025 Dunham and his characters, which include Peanut the Woozle, Jose Jalapeño on a Stick, curmudgeonly Walter and Ahmed the Dead Terrorist, have made nine comedy specials for Comedy Central, NBC and other TV and cable networks and streaming platforms. Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curmudgeonly
Adjective
  • Tudyk played Sonny, a robot who helps the cantankerous detective uncover the truth behind his creator's death.
    Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Advertisement Johnson anticipates more challenges from his cantankerous colleagues.
    Eric Cortellessa, Time, 7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • That ornery cleric was Moqtada al-Sadr, the son of Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a grand ayatollah assassinated almost certainly by Saddam’s order in 1999.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Their aggressive, ornery, and unpredictable nature has earned them the nickname Black Death.
    Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 7 Aug. 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
  • In the span of a few months rehabbing in Los Angeles in 2023, an oft-surly 40-year-old quarterback became pals with a 25-year-old goofball of a running back.
    Luca Evans, Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2025
  • As a documentary subject, Hersh is thoroughly engaging — by turns charming, surly and vulnerable.
    Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Paul’s father is the righteous wrath of society, looking down on his son’s fecklessness with the zealotry of an irascible Fox News addict who doesn’t see any value at all in arts funding.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Nothing adds depth to an irascible curmudgeon quite like an irrational love of pets that do not love you back.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • As the Platinum Chalice status holder, Adomian adopts an old man’s slow gait and crotchety American geriatric voice to yet another ovation.
    John Roy, Vulture, 8 May 2025
  • There are no shaky limbs in Wolfs, though there are some creaky joints, and an Advil joke—because aches and pains are a thing men can joke about, charmingly, while women who do the same run the risk of coming off as crotchety old complainers.
    Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 20 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • Over the weekend, reports emerged that the higher tariffs followed a disagreeable Thursday phone call between Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and Trump — which Swiss officials rejected, according to Reuters.
    Sophie Kiderlin,Jenni Reid, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Trump and his supporters prefer a happy history, a pleasant history that arouses patriotism by overlooking disagreeable people and despicable events that sully the nation’s reputation and mar the magnificence of the American story.
    William C. Hine, Twin Cities, 23 July 2025
Adjective
  • That continues when the matriarch finally passes away 20 years later, leaving equally bilious offspring Laras (Dinda Kanyadewi) in charge.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Curmudgeonly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curmudgeonly. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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