cross-grained

[ kraws-greynd, kros- ]
See synonyms for cross-grained on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having the grain running transversely or diagonally, or having an irregular or gnarled grain, as timber.

  2. stubborn; perverse.

Origin of cross-grained

1
First recorded in 1640–50

Other words from cross-grained

  • cross-grainedly, adverb
  • cross-grainedness, noun

Words Nearby cross-grained

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cross-grained in a sentence

  • When a little girl she had been almost afraid of her cross-grained relative—the only relative she had in the world.

    Ruth Fielding At College | Alice B. Emerson
  • Ruth looked across the table at her cross-grained old relative and made no direct reply to his question.

    Ruth Fielding At College | Alice B. Emerson
  • This was an agreeably different person from the nagging, cross-grained old creature who had made her life a burden!

  • It was not long before somebody came to tell Belinchon of the mayor's cross-grained conduct about the music.

    The Fourth Estate, vol. 2 | Armando Palacio Valds
  • It is said, however, that the Duke is no fool, but so cross-grained that he spoils everything he touches.

British Dictionary definitions for cross-grained

cross-grained

adjective
  1. (of timber) having the fibres arranged irregularly or in a direction that deviates from the axis of the piece

  2. perverse, cantankerous, or stubborn

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