as in complainers
an irritable and complaining person
a real grump in the morning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in complains
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
those incessantly grumping patients were generally ignored by the nursing home staff
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in scowls
to silently go about in a bad mood
he's been grumping about the house all morning because the golf tournament got rained out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grumps
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 -
The faculty experience has been that administrations often side with the complainers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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People tend to get involved once a problem becomes visible – when a price looks wrong, a transaction is flagged or a customer complains.—
Murugan Anandarajan,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
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In any work setting, there’s a person who sits around the table and complains about what’s wrong with the company, and then, when the boss walks in, that same person is over there pouring coffee, quiet as a church mouse.—
Willie Colon,
New York Times,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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However, there has been a growing edge to Denver’s current group, personified on the field in the way safety Talanoa Hufanga flies to the ball and in the way Cooper scowls under his eye black.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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While pharmaceutical companies traditionally return the crabs to the water after extracting a portion of their blood for LAL tests, mortality rates after bleeding can exceed 15–30% in some estimates.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Jan. 2026
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On top of this lobster heist that’s grabbing headlines, a load of crabs being shipped from a cold storage facility in Massachusetts also went missing on December 2, The Boston Globe reported.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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An emergency immigration hotline took a call from Delaney Hall in which the operator heard screams in the background.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
-
Nothing screams 2016 quite like the flower crown, and Eva Longoria served face in this flawless selfie.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Not explained is whether Makary would be happier if drug companies placed ads with immobile patients, frowns, and funereal music.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Ken’yaku, a commitment to frugality, is detectable in a corporate culture that frowns on perks or frills.—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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China’s decision not to renew the leases of those four bears was potentially related to Taiwan as well, one international relations expert told CNN earlier, coming after Shirahama elected a mayor with a pro-Taiwan stance.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
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The bears are sick of hearing about the long-term fundamentals.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In academic and intellectual circles, defenders of market economics were few and far between and widely viewed as cranks or worse.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
23 Nov. 2025
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Perhaps the base of the U is a gear system connecting the cranks at one end.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
22 Nov. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Grumps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grumps. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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