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crabbed

crabbed

1 8.6
Annoyed and easily upset so you speak in a short angry way
  • adjective
  • /ˈkræbɪd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : malhumorado
  • The crabbed old man yelled at the children.

Examples

  • She became quite crabbed whenever she was interrupted during her work.

  • She spoke in such a crabbed tone that nobody wanted to engage in conversation.

  • He answered in a crabbed tone that made everyone uncomfortable.

  • My crabbed neighbor yelled at the kids for playing too loudly in the street.

  • She has a crabbed expression on her face.

  • His crabbed demeanor made it hard for anyone to approach him.

  • After a long day at work, his crabbed attitude caused tension among his friends.

Synonyms

cranky
vscrabbed
117 4.2

Easily annoyed and upset when tired or hungry

is about being annoyed and irritable without quick complaining
grumpy
vscrabbed
76 1.7

Easily annoyed and in a bad mood

covers the same irritated mood but not necessarily habitual
fussy
vscrabbed
24 3.9

Easily annoyed and hard to please about small things

is annoyed without focusing on being hard to please
crabby
vscrabbed
  • Informal
24 5.4

Feeling easily annoyed and in a bad mood

is more generally annoyed and irritable rather than briefly upset
ornery
vscrabbed
  • Informal
22 8.5

Being bad-tempered and stubborn, often hard to deal with

is annoyed and irritable without adding stubborn difficult behaviour
grouchy
vscrabbed
19 3.9

Easily annoyed and often in a bad mood

describes the same annoyance without stressing complaining behaviour
pissy
vscrabbed
  • Offensive
18 9.6

Quick to become annoyed and show a bad mood

is annoyed without the petty or especially unpleasant tone
crusty
vscrabbed
14 7.3

Being often rude and easily annoyed

is annoyed but not necessarily brusque or forbidding in manner
crotchety
vscrabbed
6 8.8

Often in a bad mood and easily annoyed by small things

is irritable without the eccentric or unpredictable quality
ill-tempered
vscrabbed
4 5.7

Easily annoyed and quick to get angry

is the broader idea of being annoyed and irritable
bad-tempered
vscrabbed
3 3.5

Quick to get angry or annoyed

is about being annoyed in general rather than a persistent tendency
chippy
vscrabbed
  • UK
1 9.1

Being easily annoyed and quick to feel offended

is annoyed or irritable without the defensive quick-offense aspect
cross
vscrabbed
1 2.2

Feeling slightly angry or annoyed

is the general state of being irritable rather than a momentary mood
crankish
vscrabbed
8.3

Becoming easily annoyed and acting in a bad-tempered way

focuses only on annoyance and simple bad temper
gruntled
vscrabbed
  • Archaic
9.9

Feeling unhappy and bad-tempered

denotes simple annoyance rather than the sulky, archaic mood

Antonyms

314 1.0

Giving a gentle feeling of enjoyment

111 1.0

Happy in a way you show with a smile or friendly actions

How Irritable

cantankerous
9 8.6
bad-tempered
3 3.5
crabbed
  • Archaic
1 8.6
irritable
32 3.7
annoyed
77 1.0

Surface Forms

crabbed positive
crabbeder comparative
crabbest superlative

Morphology

crabbed = crab (semi-transparent) = crab + ed

Formed by the productive adjectival suffix -ed on 'crab'; the figurative meaning 'irritable' is metaphorical (crab-like), so connection is partly inferable but not fully literal for all learners.

Etymology

Crabbed comes from the animal crab, which people long ago used as a picture of someone 'grumpy' or 'sour' who snaps at others, like a crab. So crabbed means 'annoyed and irritable'.