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.
More character actor than leading man, he could be relied upon to inject a feisty, fiery machismo and a cantankerous contrariness into the most mainstream Hollywood offering.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 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
Eve Hewson gets only one scene but proves boundlessly charming, as does Stacy Keach as Jay’s cantankerous dad.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025
The pair takes the cold case team starring in Jussi Adler-Olsen’s series of novels and transports them to Edinburgh, casting the cantankerous Carl as an English outsider among Scots.
From Salon • Jun. 28, 2025
When the ringing departed from Herbie’s brain, he realized that not only had he ridden a very cantankerous horse, he’d accomplished something nobody else had ever accomplished.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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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