cranky

¹

[krang-kee]

adjective

crankier, crankiest 

1. ill-tempered; grouchy; cross.

   I'm always cranky when I don't get enough sleep.

   Synonyms: perverse, cantankerous, crotchety

2. eccentric; queer.

3. shaky; unsteady; out of order.

4. full of bends or windings; crooked.

5. British Dialect.,  sickly; in unsound or feeble condition; infirm.

cranky

²

[krang-kee]

adjective

Nautical.

1. crank.

cranky

¹

/ ˈkræŋkɪ /

adjective

1. informal,  eccentric

2. informal,  fussy and bad-tempered

3. shaky; out of order

4. full of bends and turns

5. dialect,  unwell

cranky

²

/ ˈkræŋkɪ /

adjective

1. nautical another word for crank 2

Other Word Forms

• crankily adverb
• crankiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cranky¹

First recorded in 1780–90; crank ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of cranky²

First recorded in 1835–45; crank ² + -y ¹

Example Sentences

It left me to wonder if being a baseball traditionalist makes me the equivalent of a Supreme Court Justice originalist, or just old and cranky?

From Los Angeles Times

There are legislators to wrangle, agencies to oversee, natural disasters to address, interest groups to fend off — all while trying to stay in the good graces of millions of often cranky, impatient voters.

From Los Angeles Times

I can be a cranky guy most of the time.

From Salon

In “Sherlock & Daughter,” Thewlis’ cranky, clipped performance spells out why so few venture to peel back the tweedy front he places between himself and everyone else.

From Salon

I’m just gonna guess for guessing’s sake and say the corpse is Walton Goggins’ character, Rick, because someone that cranky and sweaty seems destined for doom.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cantankerous 
• grouchy 
• grumpy 
• irascible 
• irritable 
• ornery 
• ugly