as in petulant
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Recent Examples of stroppy
Shi’s bottle list encompasses an idiosyncratic mix of classics and oddballs, including stroppy Austrian natural whites alongside multi-thousand-dollar Burgundies, funky low-intervention oranges from Greece, a few bottles from the Japanese winery Coco Farm.
—
Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
She’s matched wonderfully by Cooke, who leans into her actual Manchester accent to give Cherry a stroppy, sarcastic bent and whose body looks absolutely banging wrapped in an array of oxblood, maroon, and cerise minidresses.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
The team’s cohesion and ability to handle adversity are worlds apart from the stroppy exits that defined Mauricio Pochettino’s time managing a team of Galacticos.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Yet the Brazilian proceeded to show how Pereira’s faith was misplaced, first with a stroppy performance at Chelsea that prompted his head coach to publicly criticise his body language and then with his second violent meltdown of the season, against Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez in the FA Cup.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 28 May 2025
Ramaswamy stole a page from Trump’s 2016 playbook, emerging as a stroppy candidate challenging the status quo of Washington.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
Madison makes for a peculiar heroine; her performance as a realistically stroppy adolescent, in possession of a weariness and cynicism far beyond her years, recalls Karen Kilgariff playing a child in an improv scene.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 7 Oct. 2022
But even if Brexit reflects Britain’s carefree pensioners—and some evidence suggests that despite being older, Brexit voters were stroppier than average—there is little sign of such an age effect elsewhere.
—The Economist, 11 July 2019
Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
She’s matched wonderfully by Cooke, who leans into her actual Manchester accent to give Cherry a stroppy, sarcastic bent and whose body looks absolutely banging wrapped in an array of oxblood, maroon, and cerise minidresses.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
The team’s cohesion and ability to handle adversity are worlds apart from the stroppy exits that defined Mauricio Pochettino’s time managing a team of Galacticos.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Yet the Brazilian proceeded to show how Pereira’s faith was misplaced, first with a stroppy performance at Chelsea that prompted his head coach to publicly criticise his body language and then with his second violent meltdown of the season, against Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez in the FA Cup.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 28 May 2025
Ramaswamy stole a page from Trump’s 2016 playbook, emerging as a stroppy candidate challenging the status quo of Washington.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023
Madison makes for a peculiar heroine; her performance as a realistically stroppy adolescent, in possession of a weariness and cynicism far beyond her years, recalls Karen Kilgariff playing a child in an improv scene.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 7 Oct. 2022
But even if Brexit reflects Britain’s carefree pensioners—and some evidence suggests that despite being older, Brexit voters were stroppier than average—there is little sign of such an age effect elsewhere.
—The Economist, 11 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stroppy
Adjective
-
Pickens’ talent was on display during three seasons with the Steelers, but so were enough instances of petulant or indifferent behavior for then-coach Mike Tomlin to question his maturity.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The Julio Torres of TV and movies and sketch comedy and stand-up is an adorable idiot, a stubborn, often petulant child with insights that elude adults.—
Adam Moss,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That’s because the Moon is at odds with Mars today and everyone is irritable.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
7 May 2026
-
What are the symptoms of irritable bowel disease?—
Lindy Segal,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In Kennedy’s original series, Dean and Allie’s love story happens in Book Three, The Score, after the follow-up book The Mistake, which tracks the grumpy sunshine romance of John Logan (Antonio Cipriano) and Grace Ivers (India Fowler).—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
-
Their season has been busy, grumpy and overstretched, and pressure has been a niggling, constant companion, particularly at home, but their opponents on Sunday were hapless, soft in defence and muddled in their thinking.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
The coach of the team, Tarrant, an irascible, former Marine, allowed outsiders to come watch practice.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
-
Their first conversation is comically lopsided, and McKellen, purring his way through what is effectively a monologue, lays the groundwork for his most vividly inhabited and hilariously irascible performance in years.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That Utah rideshare driver, however, was justifiable more grouchy.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Flockhart is equally supportive of Ford, having expressed her joy at watching her husband’s performance as the grouchy, oft-deadpan therapist.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But even a young woman struggling with the patriarchal conundrum of cool-girl syndrome (to be independent and accepted) might reveal more of a snappish turn of mind than Grace does.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The poodle community is particularly snappish about doodles.—
John Seabrook,
New Yorker,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Judith Lightfoot Clarke and Greg Wood carry themselves with peevish authority as the Butley, oozing entitlement.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The childishness of his expressions infantilized a genuinely vicious regime, painting it as more peevish than petrifying.—
Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
The tale she’s lived to tell emerges, for all its crotchety complaints, from a place of unerring loyalty.—
Mark Leibovich,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stroppy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stroppy. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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