grouchy
/ˈɡraʊtʃi
/adjective (grouchier, grouchiest)
Irritable and bad-tempered; grumpy; complaining: the old man grew sulky and grouchy...
- If you are grouchy, irritable, or just plain mean, there will be a £100 charge for putting up with you.
- She managed to look grumpy and grouchy for a whole 10 seconds, then her smile appeared again and she stared up at the ceiling.
- Thus confined to bed and therefore incredibly grumpy and grouchy, she made life difficult for anyone visiting her.
Synonyms
grumpy, cross, irritable, bad-tempered, crotchety, crabby, crabbed, cantankerous, curmudgeonly, moody, miserable, morose, sullen, surly, churlish;
touchy, testy, tetchy, huffy, snappish, waspish, prickly
informal snappy, cranky
British informal narky, ratty, eggy, like a bear with a sore head, whingy
North American informal soreheaded, sorehead, peckish
Australian/New Zealand snaky
dated miffy
Derivatives
grouchily
- Irritated at the prospect of having to consider such a question, I called out grouchily.
- ‘I don't see why I have to be here,’ he muttered grouchily, kicking a column and scowling blackly at it.
- Kevin groaned and grouchily got in the back seat.
grouchiness
/ noun ...- I understated the grouchiness of the article, and his obvious unhappiness with a lot of new historicism.
- The fatigue and grouchiness have evaporated, and when her publicist comes to fetch her, she looks genuinely disappointed that we don't have more time.
- Usually he was after the laugh because for all his grouchiness, Papa had a good disposition and was at heart a funny man.