crank
29
7.7
- noun
- /kræŋk/
- Offensive
:
loco
- Flynn's the rich old crank that owns the Three Sands Auto and Tires.
Many people looked upon me as a crank or a fool or both, and they didn't really believe what I'd said.
- Many people looked upon me as a crank or a fool or both, and they didn't really believe what I'd said.
Examples
-
You know exactly how to turn my crank.
-
And it wasn't just the big corporations, either; it seemed every crank in the country was suddenly a technological wizard.
Fiction book (1990) -
Particularly when a crank is ready to step right up and say they do know.
Blog text (3) -
Crank he may be, traitor he is not.
-
Many people looked upon me as a crank or a fool or both, and they didn't really believe what I'd said.
-
The royals considered him a crank by then but thought he might stumble onto something useful.
Fiction book (1999) -
We get crank calls from people claiming to know who killed Rosenberg and Jensen.
-
This crank caller just won't stop phoning Bunty.
-
Humanists shouldn't write off the Tea Party movement as an unorganized collection of cranks and malcontents.
Academic text (2010) -
The new employee was often seen as a crank because of his unusual theories about office productivity.
Synonyms
309
7.5
A person who behaves in a silly or strange way
119
7.0
A person who acts in a strange or unusual way
52
8.6
A person who behaves very strangely and may be dangerous
49
9.8
A person who behaves in a strange or wild way
40
8.2
A person who has strange or unrealistic ideas
35
8.8
A person who behaves in a very strange or wild way
24
8.4
A person who behaves in an odd or funny way
21
7.2
A person who acts in a strange way
14
7.8
A person who seems strange and makes others uncomfortable
5
8.3
A person who behaves in a strange, silly way
4
8.6
A person who acts in a silly or strange way
4
9.9
A person who behaves very strangely
4
9.9
A person who behaves in a very strange or wild way
1
7.0
A person who behaves in an unusual way that others find odd
1
6.0
A person with unusual habits or behavior
1
8.8
A person who acts in a way that seems crazy
1
9.9
A person who acts in a strange way that others find unpleasant
A person with very foolish or wild ideas
A person who behaves in a strange or unusual way
A person who acts strange and makes others uncomfortable
Compounds
How Strange
Surface Forms
Etymology
Crank for an odd or irritable person comes from an old word meaning 'bent' or 'twisted', so it pictures someone who is not 'straight' in their ideas or mood and therefore seems strange or angry.