What does cantankerous mean?
Word: Cantankerous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Cantankerous means bad-tempered and quick to complain about everything.
Synonyms: grumpy, irritable
Antonyms: good-natured, easy-going
Word origin: Origin uncertain; first recorded in English in the 1700s.
How do you spell cantankerous?
Syllables: can - tan - ker - ous
Tricky part: The middle is the trap: straight after the k, students guess the faint vowel and write cantankarous.
Watch out for: cantankarous, cantankorous, cantankrous
Memory tip: Think of a grumpy worker complaining all day: the word carries the same ker as worker.
Cantankerous in a sentence
Example 1: Our cantankerous old neighbour grumbles whenever the ball lands in his garden.
Example 2: The cantankerous camel refused to stand up for the tourists.
Example 3: After a poor night, the usually cheerful baker turned cantankerous by noon.
Fun Fact
Word historians have guessed that it may be linked to contek, an old English word for a quarrel, but nobody can prove it.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Which word takes the same letter in both blanks?
a) c_nv_rsation
b) b_lc_ny
c) c_nt_nkerous
d) t_nt_cle
Show answer
c) c_nt_nkerous. Both gaps take the same vowel here; tentacle, balcony and conversation each need two different ones.
Spell Probe
Choose the meaning of the misspelt word in the sentence:
Grandfather's cantankerus old parrot squawked at every visitor and refused the ripe guava we had brought.
a) a round fruit with pink or white flesh
b) cross and difficult to keep happy
c) a tropical bird that can copy speech
d) a person who comes to see someone
Show answer
b) cross and difficult to keep happy. The adjective lost the o of its ous ending; parrot, visitor and guava are all fine.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ca' pronounced differently?
a) cantankerous
b) canvas
c) caution
d) cabin
Show answer
c) caution. Caution opens with the sound of saw, unlike the short a in the others.
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. A cantankerous neighbour usually smiles and agrees with everyone. 2. A connoisseur knows a great deal about a subject such as food or art. 3. An anthology is a collection of poems or stories.
a) only 1 and 2 are true
b) only 2 and 3 are true
c) only 1 is true
d) all three are true
Show answer
b) only 2 and 3 are true. A smiling, agreeable neighbour is the reverse of the word in statement 1.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. At a restaurant, what does a cantankerous customer tend to do?
a) find fault with every dish
b) order the same as a friend
c) praise the cook warmly
d) leave a generous tip
Show answer
a) find fault with every dish
2. Which story character does the word fit best?
a) a caretaker who moans about every noise
b) a child who shares her lunch with friends
c) a nurse who calms every nervous visitor
d) a puppy that greets everybody happily
Show answer
a) a caretaker who moans about every noise
