grumpy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
He said it was only after "a lot of shouting and a lot of being very grumpy" that the Christmas dinner went ahead on Wednesday with additional agency staff and an external chef.
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025
Instead, grumpy naysayers say our brains conduct “cognitive offload.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025
Romano shared that Boyle was nothing like his grumpy character Frank.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025
Jim sat with the football boys, all of them still grumpy about being left out of the state-championship game.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
