as in sullen
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1
as in complained
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
their two-year-old whined and crabbed for the whole car trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
crabbed the blossoming romance by becoming moody and demanding
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crabbed
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Apr. 2024
Tár, though, displays little more than crabbed irritability and self-serving cynicism.
—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Oct. 2022
No one can accuse this Court of having a crabbed view of the reach of its competence.
—
WSJ,
27 June 2019
The core error here is the Texas Supreme Court’s crabbed understanding of Obergefell.
—
Dale Carpenter,
Washington Post,
2 July 2017
Adjective
This is a crabbed and mendacious interpretation of the law.
—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Apr. 2024
Tár, though, displays little more than crabbed irritability and self-serving cynicism.
—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Oct. 2022
No one can accuse this Court of having a crabbed view of the reach of its competence.
—
WSJ,
27 June 2019
The core error here is the Texas Supreme Court’s crabbed understanding of Obergefell.
—
Dale Carpenter,
Washington Post,
2 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crabbed
Adjective
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Wilde’s Angela is expressive and antic; Rogen’s Joe is sullen and snarky.
-
Now, in a more intimate setting, the sullen and sometimes-sarcastic shadings of this longtime singer-songwriter should hark back to Folds’ fledgling days on the alt-music scene.
Verb
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By early 1775, Quebec’s governor complained that this letter was stirring up the population by planting dangerous doubts about British imperial authority.
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Smith has long complained that Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, hindered the province’s energy industry and fueled separatist sentiment.
Verb
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Residential buildings were badly damaged in the assault, leaving people trapped in multi-story apartment blocks and an entire family that was killed pulled from the rubble, while cars were seen burning on city streets.
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As a bonus, those seasons are ideal for planting a replacement shrub or re-establishing a lawn if it is damaged during the shrub removal.
Adjective
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There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.
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The disagreeable object proved no match for the most fertile person in Montana.
Verb
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Police said that after the girl screamed, the video shows a man getting into his vehicle and driving away.
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Thompson screamed at the MTA worker before grabbing her and slashing on the left side of her nose, just below her eye, according to prosecutors.
Verb
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Already, reports of sparse crowds have marred the Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair on the National Mall, the Daily Beast said.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's trip to the United Kingdom is already marred by drama after reports circulated that the visit was canceled due to security concerns.
Adjective
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Producer Barack Obama, who will also appear on the show, previously teased his collaboration with the famously grumpy and opinionated David.
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Ricky Gervais is his trademark grumpy self, just in cat form, at the beginning of the trailer for Netflix’s Alley Cats, the comic’s return to adult animation.
Verb
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Traffic hummed and whined on I-85.
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Second, in a report of their own, the pro-business commissioners whined that all of this was unfair.
Cite this Entry
“Crabbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crabbed. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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