curmudgeonly.

Grumpy, difficult, and inclined to complain, often in an unsociable way.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a curmudgeonly neighbor
• a curmudgeonly manner

On the page

The curmudgeonly caretaker complained while quietly repairing every broken chair.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more curmudgeonly; superlative most curmudgeonly when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, character. Commonness: uncommon.