cranky

¹

[krang-kee]

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.

cranky

²

[krang-kee]

adjective

Nautical.

1. crank.

cranky

¹

/ 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

cranky

²

/ ˈkræŋkɪ /

adjective

1. nautical another word for crank 2

Other Word Forms

• crankily adverb
• crankiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cranky¹

First recorded in 1780–90; crank ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of cranky²

First recorded in 1835–45; crank ² + -y ¹

Example Sentences

For a year or two after the accident, nothing happened that couldn’t be dismissed as a normal midlife memory lapse or a cranky mood.

From Los Angeles Times

It left me to wonder if being a baseball traditionalist makes me the equivalent of a Supreme Court Justice originalist, or just old and cranky?

From Los Angeles Times

There are legislators to wrangle, agencies to oversee, natural disasters to address, interest groups to fend off — all while trying to stay in the good graces of millions of often cranky, impatient voters.

From Los Angeles Times

I can be a cranky guy most of the time.

From Salon

In “Sherlock & Daughter,” Thewlis’ cranky, clipped performance spells out why so few venture to peel back the tweedy front he places between himself and everyone else.

From Salon

Related Words

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