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:
"We were all over the country supporting them and, to be fair, we both really enjoy football. It was excellent. We didn't want to be grumpy parents. We treated it as a holiday."
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
His floppy ears, grumpy little face and paws you just want to shake hands with.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
It’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, whose maddening play once clogged up the text chains of grumpy Knicks fans, but now feel like family.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 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
Monday, January 14,1935 The next Monday I’m in a really grumpy mood on account of it’s baseball day for everyone except me.
From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko
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
In an interview with The Guardian, Sudeikis said he originally conceived of Ted as a grumpier, more caustic figure.
From Salon ● May 16, 2023
As the day goes on, he gets grumpier and more critical of my daughter’s every move, which is not in line at all with my patient and encouraging parenting style.
From Slate ● May 10, 2021
Professor Treebaun walked in a moment later, looking decidedly grumpier than usual at being called in so early to monitor a test he’d watched me fail less than twenty-four hours ago.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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
And what could inspire one of the grumpiest characters in children’s television to get his groove on?
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 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 Fox News ● Jan. 11, 2022
No’mani plays Amir as the grumpiest of the quartet, but he’s a winning grump.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2019
The youngest child to the oldest, grumpiest elder would come daily just to see it.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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.
