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
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Vocabulary lists containing cantankerous
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Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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