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crossness

[ kraws-nis, kros- ]

/ ˈkrɔs nɪs, ˈkrɒs- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR crossness ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the quality or state of being cross or angry; irritability; snappishness.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.

Question 1 of 8

Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?

The Sunflower State

The Evergreen State

The Magnolia State

The Mockingbird State

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of crossness

First recorded in 1590–1600; cross + -ness

Words nearby crossness

cross-mate, cross-modality, cross-multiply, cross my heart and hope to die, cross-national, crossness, cross-nodal, cross of Calvary, Cross of Gold speech, cross of Lorraine, Cross of Valour

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for crossness

Might there not have been another reason for the crossness, supposing it to have existed?
The Bramleighs Of Bishop's Folly|Charles James Lever
He remembered Aunt Barbara's salutary remarks about crossness being the equivalent of thinking about oneself.
Michael|E. F. Benson
Then you are come to ask pardon for all your crossness, your savagery of this morning?
The Bramleighs Of Bishop's Folly|Charles James Lever
Crossness, as I have said, had been the natural psychological result of his emotions; but his emotions were none the less real.
The Necromancers|Robert Hugh Benson

At this mamma did burst out laughing—a real merry laugh, which, in spite of my crossness, I was pleased to hear.
The House That Grew|Mrs. Molesworth

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