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November 2008Word ProfileBlame it on the election or maybe it's the upcoming holiday season, but cantankerous hit the Top Twenty list of most looked-up words in October. According to the Unabridged, cantankerous has two distinct senses, one applied to people ("marked by ill humor, irritability, and determination to disagree") and the other to animals or things ("difficult or irritating to deal with or use"). If that parsing leaves you cantankerous, stick to the more succinct definition found in the Collegiate. There are many gradations of irritability, and here's a brief primer of synonyms for cantankerous. Contrary indicates a self-willed opposition to others' wishes, suggestions, and advice. Perverse, stronger than contrary, may imply wrongheaded, determined, or cranky opposition to what is right, correct, established, or normal. Restive may imply an obstinate disinclination to follow orders or act in accordance with established custom; it also suggests a restlessness arising from disinclination or impatience. Balky, often applied to animals, connotes a tendency to refuse to follow certain orders or to act or function as expected. Froward implies habitual disobedience and refusal to comply with requests. Wayward suggests extreme self-will and preference for one's own way and often implies an almost ungovernable wantonness. Cantankerous suggests truculent irritability. Cross-grained stresses irascibility and perhaps moroseness. Ornery suggests crusty disagreeableness. For a full discussion of these synonyms, see the synonym paragraph found in the entry for the adjective contrary. |