disgruntled
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of disgruntled
Explanation
Disgruntled sounds like what it is — dissatisfied, grunting and grumbling. You could become a disgruntled employee if your boss swipes all your best ideas without giving you credit (or a raise). Disgruntled actually comes from gruntle, an old verb meaning, not so surprisingly, "to grunt." When you're disgruntled, you might grunt with dissatisfaction and anger. If you are a disgruntled customer, why not ask to speak to a manager? Unless you'd rather just stand there grunting.
Vocabulary lists containing disgruntled
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Anti-Antonyms: Words Without Opposites
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
History is a useful reminder that a royal scandal is a convenient tool for an unpopular and beleaguered political class, a mistrusted army of newspaper hacks, and a disgruntled public, desperate for a plausible villain.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026
Before Babikian got the #EndFanatics movement going on X, the account @FanaticsSucks was the clearinghouse for disgruntled Fanatics customers.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026
A Cabinet Office source said: "The fact that selective excerpts are now being resurfaced, almost a decade on, to substantiate vexatious anonymous briefings from disgruntled individuals is frankly unconscionable."
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
The French government said Monday it would authorise the shooting of wolves that attack livestock even outside protected enclosures, a policy shift welcomed by farmers, a powerful and increasingly disgruntled constituency.
From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026
With a disgruntled look on his face, Marv reaches into his pocket and pulls out his car keys.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
