cranky

[ krang-kee ]

/ ˈkræŋ ki /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cranky ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, crank·i·er, crank·i·est.

ill-tempered; grouchy; cross: I'm always cranky when I don't get enough sleep.

eccentric; queer.

shaky; unsteady; out of order.

full of bends or windings; crooked.

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

Nearby words

crankle, crankly, cranko, crankpin, crankshaft, cranky, cranmer, cranmer, thomas, crannequin, crannied, crannog

Origin of cranky

First recorded in 1780–90; crank¹ + -y¹

SYNONYMS FOR cranky

1 crotchety, cantankerous, perverse.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cranky ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formscrank·i·ly, adverbcrank·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for crankiness

Nursing helped to assuage injuries, fatigue, crankiness, and even sickness.
The Bogus Breastfeeding Debate Over Nursing Older Kids|Diane Wiessinger|May 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Salesmen particularly complained of her crankiness and of the unsatisfactory service they got.
The Knack of Managing|Lewis K. Urquhart and Herbert Watson
There's something so underbred about crankiness; and the Harwich family have always been essentially aristocrats.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
But it is more likely that our crankiness was the result of the supper we had eaten the previous night.
The Story Girl|Lucy Maud Montgomery

For one and a half years prior to admission her "crankiness" is said to have become much worse.
Benign Stupors|August Hoch
To attempt to repeat what he said would convict me of crankiness equal to his own, and worse—because he could do it, and I cannot.
Dariel|R. D. Blackmore

British Dictionary definitions for crankiness (1 of 2)

cranky

/ (ˈkræŋkɪ) /

adjective crankier or crankiest

informal eccentric

mainly US, Canadian and Irish informal fussy and bad-tempered

shaky; out of order

full of bends and turns

dialect unwell

Derived Formscrankily, adverbcrankiness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for crankiness (2 of 2)

cranky

/ (ˈkræŋkɪ) /

adjective crankier or crankiest

nautical another word for crank 2

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

cranky

adjective, crank·i·er, crank·i·est.

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Nearby words

Origin of cranky

Examples from the Web for crankiness

British Dictionary definitions for crankiness (1 of 2)

cranky

adjective crankier or crankiest

British Dictionary definitions for crankiness (2 of 2)

cranky

adjective crankier or crankiest