cranky

¹ American  

[krang-kee] / ˈkræŋ ki /

adjective

• crankier,
  comparative
• crankiest
  superlative

1. ill-tempered; grouchy; cross.

   I'm always cranky when I don't get enough sleep.

   Synonyms:

   perverse, cantankerous, crotchety

2. eccentric; queer.

3. shaky; unsteady; out of order.

4. full of bends or windings; crooked.

5. British Dialect. sickly; in unsound or feeble condition; infirm.

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cranky ² American  

[krang-kee] / ˈkræŋ ki /

adjective

Nautical.

• crankier,
  comparative
• crankiest
  superlative

1. crank.

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cranky ¹ British  

/ ˈkræŋkɪ /

adjective

1. informal eccentric

2. informal fussy and bad-tempered

3. shaky; out of order

4. full of bends and turns

5. dialect unwell

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cranky ² British  

/ ˈkræŋkɪ /

adjective

1. nautical another word for crank 2

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crankiness
  noun
• crankily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• crankier
  comparative
• crankiest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of cranky¹

First recorded in 1780–90; crank ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of cranky²

First recorded in 1835–45; crank ² + -y ¹

Explanation

Cranky is one of those words that sounds a little bit like what it means: one who is cranky is easily annoyed, irritable, or testy. My sister gets cranky when she doesn't eat. If you want to have a good day, keep her well fed. A cranky person doesn't get furious or outraged, they're just easier than usual to annoy—things get on their nerves more quickly than they do for other people. You could think of someone who's cranky as having actual crank. When they're hungry, tired or otherwise worn out that crank is easy to turn—it doesn't take much to make them mad. A person in a good mood, though, has a crank that isn't as easy to turn. That's because they're not cranky.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cranky crankier crankiest

“You can certainly see the market get cranky about that.”

From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026

"If you get cranky with family, just know it's because you're tired," she told them at one point.

From BBC ● May 6, 2026

If Elvis was ever cranky, that’s been stripped out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

Or Santos bristling at her new boss’s insistence on clearing her charting backlog while tending cranky patients.

From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2026

I crossed my arms, like I’d seen people do on television when they were cranky but determined.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

The return of live performances in 2021 after 18 months of shuttered halls and scattered orchestras was enough to disabuse any critic of their crankier faculties.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2021

"You get older, you get crankier, and comfort becomes more important. I think it's as simple as that," Pitt told Esquire in an interview published Thursday.

From Fox News ● Sep. 3, 2021

But it’s often the case that the older musicians get, the crankier they become about … everything.

From Slate ● May 7, 2021

Then there are crankier critics who will point out that driverless talking cars just aren’t terribly interesting, and can be a little goofy.

From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2017

Violet was crankier than ever as I milked her that night.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

There’s Ba humbugi, a Fiji snail referencing one of literature’s crankiest men.

From Science Magazine ● May 10, 2022

“Sometimes I can add something from a younger perspective,” Ms. Rose said, referring to America’s crankiest judge as Nana.

From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2021

He’s hosting a dinner for the rest of the Freys, an uncharacteristically spontaneous celebration from one of Game of Thrones’ crankiest old bastards.

From The Verge ● Jul. 17, 2017

Part of this animosity stems from McCain’s status as the crankiest of the Senate’s many cranky old men.

From Salon ● Jul. 16, 2015

"Probably the crankiest, too," said Jeremy, as Mary Lou reached her hand toward the cage.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

Related Words

• cantankerous
• grouchy
• grumpy
• irascible
• irritable
• ornery
• ugly