crabbier; crabbiest
informal
: easily irritated : peevish and irritable : grouchy
a crabby recluse
He gets crabby if he doesn't have his morning coffee.
She was in a crabby mood and got a certain amount of satisfaction out of pushing her sister's buttons.—
Isis Crawford
Isis Crawford
crabbiness
noun
… the waiters have shed Stalinist crabbiness in favor of Parisian-style contempt for the customer.
—Kati Marton
Kati Marton
Synonyms
Examples of crabby in a Sentence
She gets crabby if she doesn't get enough sleep.
a crabby old dog who snapped at passersby
Recent Examples on the Web
What Kate will not thank him for is being a big crabby baby about her relationship with Dennison.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
There were fish living in the ice and thousands of mating pairs of these giant crustaceans dropping out of crevices on top of us, like giant crabby spiders.
—Jill Heinerth, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024
Come the crash of 2008, David’s leisure-world empire collapses, and Abraham’s patriarchal mien and tolerance turn to crabby solitude with the prospect of unloading their dream for pennies on the dollar.
—Gordon Cox, Variety, 2 Aug. 2024
Hailee Steinfeld plays the crabby, impatient, and judgmental high schooler Nadine.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for crabby 
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Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
There were fish living in the ice and thousands of mating pairs of these giant crustaceans dropping out of crevices on top of us, like giant crabby spiders.
—Jill Heinerth, People.com, 23 Oct. 2024
Come the crash of 2008, David’s leisure-world empire collapses, and Abraham’s patriarchal mien and tolerance turn to crabby solitude with the prospect of unloading their dream for pennies on the dollar.
—Gordon Cox, Variety, 2 Aug. 2024
Hailee Steinfeld plays the crabby, impatient, and judgmental high schooler Nadine.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for crabby
Dictionary Entries Near crabby
Cite this Entry
“Crabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crabby. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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