cantankerous
English · Thesaurus
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cantankerous
- /kænˈtæŋkəɹəs/
- /kənˈtæŋkəɹəs/
Where it comes from
Perhaps derived from earlier contenkerous, from contentious + rancorous.
adjective more cantankerous · most cantankerous
-
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."
Similar: cranky, crotchety, atrabilious, bad-tempered, bilious, bitchy, brainish, cantankerous, carnaptious, choleric, crabbit, crabby
Translations
Every language
adj ill-tempered, cranky, surly, crabby
| Español | intratable, mañoso, enojadizo, arisco, cascarrabias |
|---|---|
| Português | irritadiço, mal-humorado, ranzinza |
| Français | irritable |
| Deutsch | launisch, zänkisch, mürrisch, übellaunig |
| Italiano | bisbetico, scorbutico, collerico, stizzoso, irritabile, irascibile |
| Ελληνικά | κακότροπος kakótropos |
| Română | supărăcios, susceptibil, iritabil |
| Русский | сварли́вый svarlívyj |
Talk about this word "cantankerous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cantankerous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cantankerous. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cantankerous "cantankerous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cantankerous.Cite this
@misc{cantankerous_2026,
title = {cantankerous},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cantankerous},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
