as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper
a cantankerous old woman who insisted that nothing should ever be allowed to change
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Recent Examples of cantankerous
Peter Boyle earned seven Emmy nominations as Frank, Ray's cantankerous and foul-mouthed father.
—
Danny Horn, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Nov. 2025
As for Notre Dame, the College Football Playoff chase is on as the Irish head to Pittsburgh to face its cantankerous head coach.
—Pete Sampson, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2025
Getty portrayed the cantankerous but charming matriarch Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Arthur's character, and McClanahan played the flirtatious Southern belle Blanche.
—Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cantankerous
Danny Horn, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Nov. 2025
As for Notre Dame, the College Football Playoff chase is on as the Irish head to Pittsburgh to face its cantankerous head coach.
—Pete Sampson, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2025
Getty portrayed the cantankerous but charming matriarch Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Arthur's character, and McClanahan played the flirtatious Southern belle Blanche.
—Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cantankerous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cantankerous
Adjective
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Lack of sleep can lead to a range of problems, including feeling more irritable.—
Michelle Mastro,
The Spruce,
7 Feb. 2026
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On the contrary, Juventus’ football soothed even the most irritable sections of the crowd.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Meanwhile, members of Congress are likely to face some angry, dissatisfied voters — with the year’s first major primary day fast approaching on March 3.—
Marissa Martinez,
NBC news,
13 Feb. 2026
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But the attempt at humor didn’t satisfy some angry fans who believe Mets President David Stearns swindled Getz in a trade that essentially was a salary dump.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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There is the nonchalant athleticism that belies impeccable instincts and an ornery competitiveness.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2026
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Sometimes he’d be sent out to deal with the more ornery guests in an effort to calm them.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Mandating a coach keep a coordinator, particularly one with Schwartz’s surly reputation, seems counterintuitive — particularly to a young, first-time coach such as Scheelhaase.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
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Screenwriters Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines weave subtle humor — and more overt racial politics — into the way the surly group engage with one another.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The cold was biting at that hour, and people hurried about, thinking of autumn—a season as bitter and disagreeable as a sour apple that could nonetheless hold a beautiful day or two in store before the freeze set in, a sudden blue sky washed clean by the wind or rain.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
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This danger is creating a modern sycophancy crisis in which the over-agreeableness of AI is leading to very disagreeable results.—
Arianna Huffington,
Time,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
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But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.—
Stephen Galloway,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, the commentator and controversialist Piers Morgan, an obsessively close observer and relentless critic of Meghan, inevitably waded in with his usual splenetic views.—
Sarah Lyall,
New York Times,
17 Sep. 2022
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And while there is enough splenetic wit and manic detail to generate obsessive fandom (entire sections of Web sites are dedicated to deciphering just what Kenny is mumbling), subjects like alien abduction, genetic engineering, and Kathie Lee are hardly original targets for satire.—
Chris Norris,
SPIN,
13 Aug. 2022
Adjective
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Sun shrinking and getting hotter; everything bilious, oxygenless, not great for living.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Minaj’s bilious flurry is possibly related to claims that she is owed between $100 to 200 million related to her stake in Tidal, the music streaming service launched and spearheaded by Jay-Z in 2015 and was sold to Jack Dorsey’s company Square for $297 million in 2021.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cantankerous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cantankerous. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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