# cranky

Pronunciation: say "KRANG-kee" /ˈkɹæŋki/

## Adjective

1. In a bad temper and quick to get irritated or upset.
   - Simple: In a bad mood and easy to annoy or upset.
   - _Twelve hours into the delayed flight, the passengers were tired, cranky, and short with the crew._
   - _My grandfather gets crankier every winter when the ice keeps him from his morning walks._
2. Usually of a machine or the like, not in good working condition; faulty.
   - Simple: Not working well because something is wrong with it, usually said of a machine.
   - _The band struggled through the set with a cranky amplifier that kept cutting out._
   - _The ferry's engine grew crankier every season, and by August it would barely start._
3. Not quite sound of mind; eccentric or peculiar in one's ways.
   - Simple: A bit strange in the head and odd in the way they act.
   - _Great-aunt Hilda was a little cranky, wearing three hats at once and insisting the moon followed her home._
   - _The crankiest of the hermits on the ridge believed his goats could predict elections._
4. Of a ship, liable to capsize because its cargo is badly stowed or it carries too little ballast.
   - Simple: Of a ship, likely to tip over because its load is packed badly or it has too little weight low down.
   - _Loaded top-heavy with timber, the schooner was so cranky that the captain refused to leave port._
   - _Sailors dreaded a cranky ship in rough seas, where a single bad roll could lay her on her side._

## Adjective

5. Lively and full of spirit. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Full of energy and life.
   - _Fresh from the stable, the cranky colt pranced and tossed his head, eager for the open road._
   - _Though past eighty, she was as cranky as a girl of twenty and first up to dance at every wedding._
6. Weak in body and in poor health. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Weak and not feeling well.

## Origin

Formed from crank + -y. Compare Middle Low German krankich, meaning “sickly, unwell”.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cranky (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).