grumpy

Meanings

1. Easily annoyed and in a bad mood.
2. Often complaining, as a part of someone's personality.

Example sentences

• "My dad is always grumpy in the morning."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "The baby was tired and grumpy by evening."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "Don't be so grumpy, it is only a small mistake."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "The grumpy waiter barely looked at us."

  Level B1, Meaning 2

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• grouchy : Grouchy means almost the same and is common in American English. Both describe a complaining, bad-tempered mood.
• angry : Angry is stronger and has a cause. A grumpy person is just in a bad mood and may not be able to say why.

Word family and forms

Forms: grumpier, grumpiest

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "grumpy".

• grumpy old man
• a grumpy mood
• feel grumpy
• grumpy and tired
• grumpy before breakfast
• a grumpy face

Origin

Grumpy is made from grump plus the ending -y. Grump is an expressive word that was first recorded in the phrase humps and grumps, which meant slights and snubs, and grumpy itself appeared in English in the late 1700s.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Grumpy rhymes with lumpy and bumpy. Picture a lumpy pillow that left you with a grumpy face.

Test yourself

Learn next at A1

• guard A person whose job is to protect or watch over a place or person.
• guava A round tropical fruit with a strong sweet smell and pink or white fle...
• guess To give an answer or opinion without being completely sure it is corre...
• guest A person who is invited to visit someone's home or attend an event.
• guinea pig A small furry animal with short legs and no tail, often kept as a pet.
• guitar A musical instrument with strings that you play by plucking or strummi...