crotchety
adjective
crotch·ety
ˈkrä-chə-tē 
1
: given to crotchets (see crotchet sense 2a) : subject to whims, crankiness, or ill temper
a crotchety old man
a crotchety critic
2
: full of or arising from crotchets
a crotchety style
Crotchety twilight-of-life drama.—
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Examples of crotchety in a Sentence
None of the students dared to talk back to the crotchety old teacher.
I get crotchety after a long day at work.
Recent Examples on the Web
There are no shaky limbs in Wolfs, though there are some creaky joints, and an Advil joke—because aches and pains are a thing men can joke about, charmingly, while women who do the same run the risk of coming off as crotchety old complainers.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 20 Sep. 2024
The narrators of these stories are crotchety, easily nettled by the behaviors of other passengers.
—Jasmine Liu, The New Republic, 24 Oct. 2023
Not to mention mostly crotchety baseball writers, the most tenured of which make up the Hall of Fame voting electorate.
—Dallas News, 20 Jan. 2023
This casual yet momentous inversion of the domestic labors that Beauvoir cursed yields the indelible image of a crotchety old lady propped up with her small menagerie in bed, while, in the kitchen, the men marinate a leg of lamb for her dinner.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2021
See all Example Sentences for crotchety 
Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 20 Sep. 2024
The narrators of these stories are crotchety, easily nettled by the behaviors of other passengers.
—Jasmine Liu, The New Republic, 24 Oct. 2023
Not to mention mostly crotchety baseball writers, the most tenured of which make up the Hall of Fame voting electorate.
—Dallas News, 20 Jan. 2023
This casual yet momentous inversion of the domestic labors that Beauvoir cursed yields the indelible image of a crotchety old lady propped up with her small menagerie in bed, while, in the kitchen, the men marinate a leg of lamb for her dinner.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2021
See all Example Sentences for crotchety
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crotchety.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Crotchety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crotchety. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.
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