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.

"You're not following what I'm saying," he tells his assistants, crankily stalking off.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2023

Even so, as Anaïs continued to sprint and scurry, I crankily scribbled in my notes that the filmmaker was testing our patience with this chick.

From New York Times • Apr. 28, 2022

My personal favorite moment, a moment of Zen, occurred when nothing was happening, after Alaska crankily demanded a recount.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 20, 2016

But, as literature, the point-making becomes wearying; even the most well-disposed reader may grow crankily contrarian by the 14 or 15 invocation of Elinor’s moral superiority.

From Slate • Apr. 5, 2013

Her hands lay on top of the armrests as if they needed a place to sit after a lifetime of clenching, and in fact, she seemed to be settling into stillness, quietly and crankily.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt