irascible

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.

Ms. Jackson is no apologist—her James has flaws aplenty—but where prior historians offered snide caricature, she portrays a complex leader who was “intelligent, resilient, idiosyncratic, irascible, guileful and witty.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Davidson lends his irascible appeal to Petey in an excellent vocal turn.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2025

"We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful."

From BBC • May 5, 2024

The club identifies, correctly, as a titan, and — under Pérez’s stewardship, in particular — it has taken great pride in living the values associated with the classical definition of that term: impetuous, impulsive, irascible.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2024

However, all writers about them, from Romans to modern zookeepers, decry their irascible temper and their nasty habit of biting people.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond