grumpy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- grumpily adverb
- grumpiness noun
- ungrumpy adjective
Etymology
Origin of grumpy
1770–80; grump expressive word, first attested in the phrase humps and grumps slights and snubs + -y 1
Explanation
When your friend suggests a restaurant but you’re in a bad mood so you say “That’s a stupid restaurant” — even though you don’t really mind it — then you’re being grumpy, meaning irritable or grouchy. There are all kinds of reasons for feeling grumpy: maybe you’re tired or annoyed or you have a headache. Whatever the cause, when you’re grumpy you just want to sulk in a corner. Even though it’s a negative word, it’s a pretty gentle one. When you're grumpy, you’re not mad or mean — you’re just unpleasant for the moment. But don’t tell someone who’s grumpy that he's being grumpy . . . He likely won’t respond kindly to that.
Vocabulary lists containing grumpy
"Dr. Seuss" by Jill Foran
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Shiloh
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for November 26–December 2, 2022
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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.
“Trips to China have made me grumpy and given me a bad attitude toward American-market EVs,” wrote Kevin Williams at InsideEVs.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
"You get grumpy when you get delays at airports but we should think about people who are dying."
From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026
With Musk in place and chasing his record payday, grumpy valuation math can give way for now to open-ended optimism about Tesla’s robo future.
From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025
“It looks good on a picture, and that’s about it,” Hennessey says, adding that in his own restaurant, he uses larger carafes to smooth out service and keep diners from getting grumpy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
When you’re grumpy, it’s hard to un-grumpy yourself, but she sighed and calmed the burning in her chest long enough to apologize for her tone of voice.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich 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.
