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View synonyms for crabby

crabby

[ krab-ee ]

adjective

, crab·bi·er, crab·bi·est.
  1. Informal. grouchy; ill-natured; irritable; peevish.


crabby

/ ˈkræbɪ /

adjective

  1. bad-tempered
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Other Words From

  • crabbi·ly adverb
  • crabbi·ness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of crabby1

First recorded in 1540–50; crab 3 + -y 1
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Example Sentences

The earliest crabs were very different from those alive today, and their appearance was “mostly something in between lobstery-looking and crabby-looking,” Luque says.

When I was a Catholic school kid in the late 1960s and early ’70s, many of my teachers were joyful Franciscans, not the crabby, knuckle-rapping ones of earlier decades.

From Time

For us, this is Louis C.K. and his crabby, melancholic, and profanely funny half-hour comedy.

Never underestimate the power of “crabby snacks and homemades.”

Crabby American billionaires want their money back, writes John Avlon.

It makes kids crabby and compromises their ability to learn.

Today, Nichol comes across as downright crabby when asked about the senator.

There comes a time when a woman has to make up her mind to choose between being called a 'dear old soul' or a 'crabby old thing.'

Persius is crabby, because ancient, and his jerks (being particularly given to private customs of his time) dusky.

I entertained myself with keeping her to the subject, and that made her crabby.

Time was getting short, and it was no use wasting time on my crabby landlady.

Accordingly the Hermit exerted himself to please, and it would really have taken more than three crabby boys to resist him.

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crabbingcrab cactus