cranky

¹ American  

[krang-kee] / ˈkræŋ ki /

adjective

crankier, crankiest

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.

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

• crankily
  adverb
• crankiness
  noun

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.

Related Words

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