cantankerous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Playing a confounding, cantankerous old painter who hasn’t touched a canvas in at least 20 years, Mr. McKellen delivers yet another marvelous late-career highlight.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
The baritone, Vincent Casagrande, a marvelously cantankerous Prisoner, tells us only sick people dream, and of course everyone on stage automatically enters a dream state.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
The soccer team’s place in the Premier League standings had the typically cantankerous rock star in a great mood, and that held when talk turned to his ongoing reunion tour.
From Salon • Aug. 19, 2025
A foreign policy insider told me: "It might come at a price, but it is in our interest for him to be a success, not be cantankerous."
From BBC • Jan. 18, 2025
Unfortunately, as Great-Aunt Bert could be a bit cantankerous, they were having to be creative.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Vocabulary lists containing cantankerous
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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