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Definition
having a difficult and contrary disposition- He is a cantankerous old man who seldom has something good to say.
cantankerous = having a difficult and contrary disposition
- She presided over the quarrelsome and cantankerous congressional testimony.
- Remember, I'm used to cantankerous cars.Barbara Kingsolver -- The Bean Trees
- "He was a cantankerous brute," Salamano said.Albert Camus -- The Stranger
- But people did come, and did sit and chew and swallow, their Adam's apples bobbing, .... as if there were nothing even a little breathtaking in Otis the waiter (formerly a cantankerous cook) actually waiting table, exactly as ordered.Gish Jen -- Typical American
- She likes waking up to the sound of Alyona bleating in the morning, and the harmlessly cantankerous cook, Adiba, who works marvels in the kitchen.Khaled Hosseini -- A Thousand Splendid Suns
- Cranky, cantankerous, irritable and that's when she's in a good mood, Scatty said.Micheal Scott -- The Alchemyst
- He was a cantankerous troublemaker, but the Circle blood ran deep.Ted Dekker -- White: The Great Pursuit
- He just has the high cantankerous moral shrinks.Robert Penn Warren -- All the King's Men
- "I tried," the shrink behind the door said, "to submit myself to that man, to the ghost of that cantankerous Jew.Thomas Pynchon -- The Crying of Lot 49
- I'm getting old and cantankerous.John Steinbeck -- East of Eden
- "I'm well on my way to becoming a cantankerous old witch."Margaret Atwood -- Cat's Eye
- Judge Glass was his usual cantankerous self, barking at defense attorneys and sniping at defendants.Scott Pratt -- An Innocent Client
- She made it more difficult for him by adopting a cantankerous tone.W. Somerset Maugham -- Of Human Bondage
- Clean water filled the barrels, fresh rushes lined the floor, and a cantankerous old goat was on the menu.Henry H. Neff -- The Fiend And The Forge
- After Mom and Dad left, Erma became even more cantankerous.Jeannette Walls -- The Glass Castle
- They were all there—the deaf ammoomas, the cantankerous, arthritic appoopans, the pining wives, scheming uncles, children with the runs.Arundhati Roy -- The God of Small Things
- Some men are too cantankerous for anything—don't know how to make the best of a bad job—don't see things as they are—as they are, my boy!Joseph Conrad -- Lord Jim
- Conscious," he smiled, "and cantankerous.Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird
- "I guess this cantankerous woman is getting out of here," Gramps said.Sharon Creech -- Walk Two Moons
cantankerous = difficult
cantankerous = having a difficult and contrary disposition
cantankerous = having a difficult and contrary disposition