adjective
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informal cross; irritable; contrary
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full of crotchets
Other Word 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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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.
The figure of the author, typically a crotchety older man with an impish sense of humor and unabashed literary fervor, became a staple of his later work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2025
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
Ninety-four-year-old James Hong, the film’s crotchety patriarch, reflected at the SAGs on Hollywood’s dismal history of depicting Asian and Asian-American life.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2023
By this time the truck was little more than four wheels and an engine and the engine was so crotchety and sullen and senile that it required expert care and consideration.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
