as in crab
an irritable and complaining person
that old sourpuss must spend all his time making sure no one traipses across his lawn
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Recent Examples of sourpuss
The Republicans sat like stubborn sourpusses eager for the 81-year-old president to stumble.
—
Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Four generations on, the Grinch’s humble roots on the page as a black-and-white sourpuss, looking down on Who-ville and rueing the impending town feast, have become a Christmas cottage industry.
—Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Dec. 2020
The suggestion turns me into Schrödinger's sourpuss: neither angry nor disappointed but a superposition of both.
—Tom Simonite, Wired, 18 Feb. 2020
Even a sourpuss like Heifetz let his hair down madly dashing through the finale like a child’s first moments at Disneyland.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2019
Reeves shoulders the dual roles of twin brothers with markedly divergent personalities: peevish sourpuss John and sweet-natured James, who is deep into a losing battle with AIDS.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2018
According to the Washington Post, a jury awarded famed sourpuss Grumpy Cat $710,000 in damages on Monday, settling a lawsuit that began in 2015 between the cat’s company and the Grenade beverage company.
—Kate Hogan, PEOPLE.com, 25 Jan. 2018
To most Internet users, Grumpy Cat - the feline with a furry frown - is a minor celebrity that capitalized on the popularity of memes in 2012 as a perpetual sourpuss.
—The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 25 Jan. 2018
Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024
Four generations on, the Grinch’s humble roots on the page as a black-and-white sourpuss, looking down on Who-ville and rueing the impending town feast, have become a Christmas cottage industry.
—Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Dec. 2020
The suggestion turns me into Schrödinger's sourpuss: neither angry nor disappointed but a superposition of both.
—Tom Simonite, Wired, 18 Feb. 2020
Even a sourpuss like Heifetz let his hair down madly dashing through the finale like a child’s first moments at Disneyland.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2019
Reeves shoulders the dual roles of twin brothers with markedly divergent personalities: peevish sourpuss John and sweet-natured James, who is deep into a losing battle with AIDS.
—Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2018
According to the Washington Post, a jury awarded famed sourpuss Grumpy Cat $710,000 in damages on Monday, settling a lawsuit that began in 2015 between the cat’s company and the Grenade beverage company.
—Kate Hogan, PEOPLE.com, 25 Jan. 2018
To most Internet users, Grumpy Cat - the feline with a furry frown - is a minor celebrity that capitalized on the popularity of memes in 2012 as a perpetual sourpuss.
—The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 25 Jan. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sourpuss
Noun
-
The plant provides habitat for fish, crabs and plankton, feeds migratory birds and locks away carbon and methane — both heat-trapping greenhouse gases — in coastal sediments.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Their diet includes fish, squid, crabs, krill and other sea life.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The pervasive popularity of the show and its creator will be the reason the complainers have no voice.—
Rich Heldenfels,
Boston Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
-
An energy vampire has bad body language, the complaining look on their face, the vocal complainer.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The bears will go back to citing narrow leadership as a reason to distrust the bullish trend.—
Todd Gordon,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2026
-
There are 10 others — a bear, dragon, fox, knight, lion, marauder, mustang, red panda, watchman and wolf — that will be narrowed to a final three via a public voting process that ends Friday.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Trooper, which sells a 75-item box equipped with water pouches, meal bars, and a hand-crank radio, designed to sustain a family of four for 72 hours, built its kits after the 2024 floods but has found an altogether different audience since the missile and drone volleys started, AGBI reported.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
7 Apr. 2026
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The Republican Party embraced neoconservatism; Buchanan and his cohort were the stewards of an ideology for cranks.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The David Hockney–esque Julian was a star of the ’60s and ’70s but has spent the past three decades in prolonged retreat, living off his notoriety and persona as an art curmudgeon — first as a judge on a reality-competition show and, more recently, on Cameo.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
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And adopting the mantle of cultural curmudgeon can get tiring.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Then again, being a grump is Payton's brand.—
Matt Schubert,
Denver Post,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sourpuss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sourpuss. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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