First Known Use: 1772
Dictionary
cantankerous
adjective can·tan·ker·ous \kan-ˈtaŋ-k(ə-)rəs, kən-\
: often angry and annoyed
Full Definition of CANTANKEROUS
: difficult or irritating to deal with <a cantankerous mule>
— can·tan·ker·ous·ly adverb
— can·tan·ker·ous·ness noun
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Examples of CANTANKEROUS
- Contemporaries often found him aloof, standoffish, and cantankerous and his mannerisms and diction inscrutable. —Jonathan Spence, New York Review of Books, 22 Oct. 2009
- There are those who contend the hockey maven is a cantankerous old coot—rife with unpopular opinions and quick to assert them —Rick Harrison, Newsday, 19 Sept. 2004
- … it's something ultimately more memorable: a self-portrait of a coolly cantankerous woman, reformed but unrepentant. —David Gates, New York Times Book Review, 21 Nov. 1999
- In his last years, Harriman was the kind of cantankerous old man who once berated a financial planner by threatening to make him sit in the corner and wear a dunce cap. —Bryan Burrough, Vanity Fair, January 1995
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Origin of CANTANKEROUS
perhaps irregular from obsolete contack contention
Related to CANTANKEROUS
- Synonyms
- acid, bearish, bilious, bloody-minded [chiefly British], ill–tempered, disagreeable, dyspeptic, ill-humored, ill-natured, ornery, splenetic, surly
- Antonyms
- amiable, good-humored, good-natured, good-tempered
CANTANKEROUSNESS Defined for Kids
cantankerous
adjective can·tan·ker·ous \kan-ˈtaŋ-kə-rəs\
Definition of CANTANKEROUS for Kids
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