grumpy
Americanadjective
-
grumpier,
comparative
-
grumpiest
superlative
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
Please note that the entry-level Model Y retains the previous, grumpy catfish face, for the sullen ichthyologist in your life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
His floppy ears, grumpy little face and paws you just want to shake hands with.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
“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
No one is immune to holiday fatigue, and it is contagious: One grumpy traveler can make the rest of his or her party miserable before the station wagon has left the driveway.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
They aren't as social as their alpine counterparts, Blumstein said, and the female marmots get grumpier as they age.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
But French fans, despite their tricolore turnouts up and down the East Coast, became even grumpier during their win over Iraq after enduring a lengthy delay and biblical downpour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Or if a hive is in trouble and doesn’t have a queen, the bees tend to be a little grumpier.
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2023
No matter what the outcome is, all of us who would rather not be subjected to this dumpster will be left feeling a few smudges grumpier.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2022
“But who’s the baker? Where’s the baker?” she demanded to know, for the villagers were now three days grumpier than they had been before.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Five young Pallas's cats, dubbed the world's grumpiest feline for their sullen facial expressions, went on display at a zoo in Japan on Thursday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
"He wouldn’t put his name on the list for a nursing home knowing nobody would take the cat, who has the grumpiest meow I've ever heard."
From Fox News ● Jan. 11, 2022
“He wouldn’t put his name on the list for a nursing home knowing nobody would take the cat, who has the grumpiest meow I’ve ever heard.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2022
But he earned an even greater measure of notoriety as the author of blunt and widely circulated office memos that earned him the unofficial title “world’s grumpiest boss.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 25, 2016
Otis looked like the world’s largest, grumpiest ballet dancer.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
