Cantankerous
/kænˈtæŋkəɹəs/ adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Given to or marked by an ill-tempered, quarrelsome nature; ill-tempered, cranky, crabby.
""She is a cantankerous old maid," added another, whom I recognised, by his voice, as a man whose attentions I had put a determined check to not six weeks before: "she is a cantankerous old maid, fretting and snarling over the loss of her beauty.""
Adjective
- 1 having a difficult and contrary disposition wordnet
- 2 stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate wordnet
Example
More examples"He is a violent, dangerous, cantankerous character, hated by everyone who comes across him."
Etymology
Perhaps derived from earlier contenkerous, from contentious + rancorous.