as in cantankerous
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Recent Examples of curmudgeonly
The new arrival to the town, Sam Cooper (Alfred Molina) is a curmudgeonly grouch with a heart of gold, consumed with grief over his late wife, Lily (Jane Kaczmarek).
—
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
Resistance to change can be chalked up to old curmudgeonly thinking, or sentimental attachment.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
Berry's name and face may not be as familiar to American audiences as Offerman's, who became so well known as the curmudgeonly Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026
Van Pelt’s giant Pacific octopus narrator — wry, curmudgeonly, deeply observant — is the beating heart of the book.
—Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
And what of the gently curmudgeonly man of letters who runs an after-school study room for children, tutoring them in everything from multiplication tables to Victor Hugo?
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
Sybil lives alone and spends her days fountain-penning personal letters and occasional emails that tell the story of her loves, losses, sorrows and deep regrets, through her alternately curmudgeonly and generous-hearted persona.
—Patricia Steckler, Baltimore Sun, 21 Feb. 2026
Best of all, this film has Leslie Nielsen, playing the curmudgeonly father of Goss’ Chris.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
Anna immediately clocks that Larry, a curmudgeonly old man transported back to his younger self, is in for a tough ride.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 20 Nov. 2025
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
Resistance to change can be chalked up to old curmudgeonly thinking, or sentimental attachment.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
Berry's name and face may not be as familiar to American audiences as Offerman's, who became so well known as the curmudgeonly Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026
Van Pelt’s giant Pacific octopus narrator — wry, curmudgeonly, deeply observant — is the beating heart of the book.
—Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
And what of the gently curmudgeonly man of letters who runs an after-school study room for children, tutoring them in everything from multiplication tables to Victor Hugo?
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
Sybil lives alone and spends her days fountain-penning personal letters and occasional emails that tell the story of her loves, losses, sorrows and deep regrets, through her alternately curmudgeonly and generous-hearted persona.
—Patricia Steckler, Baltimore Sun, 21 Feb. 2026
Best of all, this film has Leslie Nielsen, playing the curmudgeonly father of Goss’ Chris.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
Anna immediately clocks that Larry, a curmudgeonly old man transported back to his younger self, is in for a tough ride.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 20 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curmudgeonly
Adjective
-
The cantankerous Croatian lasted until November.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
As our cantankerous lead, Molina harumphs lovably from scene to scene, conveying both his character’s indomitable will and the wretchedness of his grief.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
Leach also would publicly call out his players and could get ornery when questioned about his team’s shortcomings.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
The rabbi is ornery, arrogant, sometimes cruel.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
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
Adjective
-
Our protagonist, the surly and depressed writer Ohm, has been stuck on the ending to his book series featuring a conquistador lost in the desert with a young companion and a map trapped inside a bottle.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
2 May 2026
-
Our protagonist, the surly and depressed writer Ohm, has been stuck on the ending to his book series featuring a conquistador lost in the desert with a young companion and a map trapped inside a bottle.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
-
But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.—
Stephen Galloway,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
For the first time, that includes In Living Color vet Kim Wayans, going large as irascible hospital staffer Nurse Ratchett.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
-
No true irascible aging genius worth his salt is without a ready supply of white socks brightening up the chest of drawers.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Here and across most of the album, Antonoff comes off like a crotchety war vet boxing at shadows.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
30 May 2026
-
Arteta can strike a crotchety figure in post-match interviews, particularly when his team have dropped points.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The disagreeable object proved no match for the most fertile person in Montana.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
This is because there is a meaningful difference between disagreeing and being disagreeable.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Curmudgeonly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curmudgeonly. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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