adjective
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informal cross; irritable; contrary
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full of crotchets
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of crotchety
Explanation
The adjective crotchety describes someone who's difficult, irritable, and ornery. If you're crotchety, you complain and argue and are more or less miserable to be around. Crotchety is most often used when talking about older people, like the crotchety old man who sits on his porch and yells at you to slow down when you drive by. Sometimes crotchety people take pleasure in bothering others or complaining. Crotchety derives from the word crotchet, meaning "whim or fancy," and crotchety people do seem subject to whims — you might not know exactly why they're irritable, but you definitely know they're crotchety.
Vocabulary lists containing crotchety
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Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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Walk Two Moons
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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.
Squibb is renowned for her crotchety wisecracks, but this touching comedy about unexpected friendship and the different levels of truth allows her to show off another of her remarkable talents: listening.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025
The show, “Extremely Inappropriate!,” features a foul-talking, crotchety physical education teacher and widowed father who boards a public bus in 1986 Japan and finds himself whisked to 2024.
From New York Times • May 29, 2024
We of the more crotchety generations, however, suffered through the plaything’s shrill, maniacal giggles for a sustained period – months, years maybe.
From Salon • Feb. 9, 2024
The Grumpy Café may not sound like the friendliest place to grab a coffee but inside the large, warm meeting place in the centre of Hastings, the atmosphere is anything but crotchety.
From BBC • Oct. 19, 2023
He was a crotchety old grandfather and not at all accountable for how he came out.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
