cantankerous
[ kan-tang-ker-uhs ]
/ kænˈtæŋ kər əs /
Save This Word!
adjective
disagreeable to deal with; contentious; peevish: a cantankerous, argumentative man.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON "EVOKE" VS. "INVOKE"!
Call upon your favorite grammar inspirations to tackle this quiz on the differences and uses of "evoke" and "invoke."
Question 1 of 7
“Evoke” and “invoke” both derive from the same Latin root “vocāre.”
Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Origin of cantankerous
First recorded in 1765–75; origin uncertain; earlier contankerous, perhaps derivation of Middle English contack, conteck “quarrel, contention,” from Anglo-French contek, formed on the models of contentious, rancorous
OTHER WORDS FROM cantankerous
can·tan·ker·ous·ly, adverbcan·tan·ker·ous·ness, nounWords nearby cantankerous
Cantabrigian, Cantal, cantala, cantalever, cantaloupe, cantankerous, cantar, cantata, cantatrice, can't but, can't complain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use cantankerous in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for cantankerous
cantankerous
/ (kænˈtæŋkərəs) /
adjective
quarrelsome; irascible
Derived forms of cantankerous
cantankerously, adverbcantankerousness, nounWord Origin for cantankerous
C18: perhaps from C14 (obsolete) conteckour a contentious person, from conteck strife, from Anglo-French contek, of obscure origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012