grouchy

adjective

ˈgrau̇-chē 

grouchier; grouchiest

: given to grumbling : peevish

grouchily

ˈgrau̇-chə-lē 

adverb

grouchiness

ˈgrau̇-chē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• choleric
• crabby
• cranky
• cross
• crotchety
• fiery
• grumpy
• irascible
• irritable
• peevish
• perverse
• pettish
• petulant
• prickly
• quick-tempered
• raspy
• ratty
• short-tempered
• snappish
• snappy
• snarky
• snippety
• snippy
• stuffy
• testy
• waspish

Examples of grouchy in a Sentence

I get grouchy when I'm tired.

a lack of sleep would make anyone grouchy

Recent Examples on the Web

Muffin goes toe to toe with a real grouchy granny and comes out on top. —Vanessa Armstrong, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2024

While YouTube had pranksters and beauty gurus, and Instagram had fashionistas and travel bloggers, Twitter had grouchy journalists, political flame wars, and niche humor. —Kate Conger, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024

To Patriots fans, who were fed up by decades of losing, their coach had good reason to be grouchy. —Bill Pennington, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024

Martin’s best scenes aren’t with Short or Gomez or (Andrea) Martin, but rather in an episode that foregrounds grouchy neighbor Uma, played by the always wonderful Jackie Hoffman. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1895, in the meaning defined above