crabbed
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crabbed
(krăbd, krăb′ĭd)adj.
1. Irritable and perverse in disposition; ill-tempered.
2. Difficult to understand; complicated.
3. Difficult to read; cramped: crabbed handwriting.
[Middle English, from crabbe, crab (influenced by crab); see crab1.]
crab′bed·ly adv.
crab′bed·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
crabbed
(ˈkræbɪd)adj
1. surly; irritable; perverse
2. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) (esp of handwriting) cramped and hard to decipher
[C13: probably from crab1 (from its wayward gait), influenced by crab(apple) (from its tartness)]
ˈcrabbedly adv
ˈcrabbedness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
crab•bed
(ˈkræb ɪd)adj.
1. difficult to read, as handwriting.
2. hard to understand; intricate and obscure.
3. ill-tempered; surly.
crab′bed•ly, adv.
crab′bed•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
See also related terms for perverse.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Adj. | 1. | ![]() ill-natured - having an irritable and unpleasant disposition |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
crabbed
adjectiveHaving or showing a bad temper:
bad-tempered, cantankerous, cranky, cross, disagreeable, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, nasty, peevish, petulant, querulous, snappish, snappy, surly, testy, ugly, waspish.
Idiom: out of sorts.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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