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.
Ian McKellen plays a cantankerous painter, Michael Jackson’s electrifying talent comes through in a new biopic, Albert Camus’s ‘The Stranger’ gets an elegant adaptation, and much, much more.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
A subdued economy leads to a subdued, restless, perhaps cantankerous electorate.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
In “Greenberg,” Ben Stiller’s title character is a cantankerous and neurotic New Yorker who has fled west after a nervous breakdown.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025
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
She could be a little prickly, and even cantankerous with the other nurses sometimes.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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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Grade 10, List 5
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