cranky
1 Americanadjective
-
ill-tempered; grouchy; cross.
I'm always cranky when I don't get enough sleep.
- Synonyms:
- perverse, cantankerous, crotchety
-
eccentric; queer.
-
shaky; unsteady; out of order.
-
full of bends or windings; crooked.
-
British Dialect. sickly; in unsound or feeble condition; infirm.
adjective
adjective
-
informal eccentric
-
informal fussy and bad-tempered
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shaky; out of order
-
full of bends and turns
-
dialect unwell
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cranky1
First recorded in 1780–90; crank 1 + -y 1
Origin of cranky2
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.
Vocabulary lists containing cranky
Rules
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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 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
In reality, though, it’s the options premium they really like, and they tend to get cranky if the stock declines and they must buy it.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
And in the entry for “cranky” I find a secondary meaning I have never considered: “full of twists and turns,” as in a cranky road.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
“Perhaps you’ll be less cranky after you’ve eaten,” Rhonda said, getting the pitcher herself.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
