can ‧ tan ‧ ker ‧ ous /kænˈtæŋk ə rəs/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: Perhaps from conteck 'quarreling' (13-17 centuries) ]
bad-tempered and complaining a lot:
a cantankerous old man
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THESAURUS
▪ bad-tempered becoming easily annoyed and talking in an angry unfriendly way to people:
Her husband was a disagreeable, bad-tempered man.
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I was wondering why she had been so bad-tempered recently.
▪ moody often becoming annoyed or unhappy, especially when there seems to be no good reason:
a moody teenager
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Myra can be a bit moody sometimes.
▪ irritable easily annoyed about small things, especially because you are tired, upset, or worried:
I hadn’t had much sleep and was feeling tired and irritable.
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Since Steve quit smoking, he’s been really irritable.
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You’re turning into an irritable old man.
▪ grumpy/grouchy easily annoyed and often complaining about things - used especially when talking about people you know well. These words sound much gentler and less critical than bad-tempered :
There’s no need to be so grumpy!
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He woke up in a grouchy mood.
▪ be in a bad mood to be feeling annoyed or unhappy, so that you do not speak in a normal friendly way to people - used especially when this only lasts for a fairly short period of time and is not part of someone’s usual character:
Leave him alone – he’s in a bad mood today.
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By the time I got home at 9 o'clock, I was in a really bad mood.
▪ have/have got a short fuse informal to be likely to become angry very suddenly, especially in an unreasonable way:
Be careful what you say to the Colonel - he’s got a very short fuse.
▪ cantankerous written bad-tempered and complaining or quarrelling a lot – used especially about old people:
The hotel owner was a cantankerous old man.
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In later years, she became quite cantankerous.