cross-grained

adjective

Definition of cross-grainednext
as in cantankerous

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cross-grained
  1. cantankerous
  2. disagreeable
  3. querulous
  4. bilious
  5. dyspeptic
  6. ornery
  7. surly
  8. irascible
Adjective
  • Lillard’s Portland homecoming After having spent the first 11 years of his career adored in Portland, guard Damian Lillard left the city in a cantankerous exit in 2023 for Milwaukee to give Antetokounmpo what was supposed to be a championship boost.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Carroll O'Connor played the cantankerous antihero Archie Bunker, legendary for firing off his grumpy, bigoted views.
    — Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 12 July 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • Mistaking being disagreeable with the act of disagreeing is common - especially in unsafe psychological workplaces.
    — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • The American right, too, is in a shifting, querulous state.
    — Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026
  • In fact, the B-2 bombers were still in the air with hours to go before reaching home when Van Hollen issued his querulous statement.
    — Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
Definition of querulous
Adjective
  • Look the steady coarsening of American civic and political culture and the ways in which the once-outrageous—the bilious, hateful rhetoric and the creeping authoritarianism—have become almost ordinary.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
  • Minaj’s bilious flurry is possibly related to claims that she is owed between $100 to 200 million related to her stake in Tidal, the music streaming service launched and spearheaded by Jay-Z in 2015 and was sold to Jack Dorsey’s company Square for $297 million in 2021.
    — Andrew Flanagan, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Definition of bilious
Adjective
  • Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
  • But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.
    — Stephen Galloway, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
Definition of dyspeptic
Adjective
  • In the show, Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, an ornery Green Lantern who is begrudgingly training his upstart protégé (Aaron Pierre).
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 16 July 2026
  • Leach also would publicly call out his players and could get ornery when questioned about his team’s shortcomings.
    — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Definition of ornery
Adjective
  • The Jordan that the audience gets to know is a bit surly and self-centered.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Back at the dilapidated family home, Edgar grows even surlier, lashing into gentle-natured Joe for being an under-achiever compared to his brother and causing Thya to become apprehensive about Ed’s proximity to sharp objects.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026
Definition of surly
Adjective
  • My backyard tortoise, Philbert, has been most irascible and taken to his fainting couch (cardboard box).
    — STAT Staff, STAT, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Graham, who died unexpectedly on July 11 at age 71, was equally irascible and incorrigible.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 28 July 2026
Definition of irascible
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

cross fires
cross-grained
crossing
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Cite this Entry

“Cross-grained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cross-grained. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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