as in sullen
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in complained
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
their two-year-old whined and crabbed for the whole car trip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
crabbed the blossoming romance by becoming moody and demanding
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crabbed
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Tár, though, displays little more than crabbed irritability and self-serving cynicism.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2022
This is a truly crabbed and reductive view of the man and his work.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2021
Guston’s searingly funny caricatures of Richard M. Nixon and his corrupt White House cronies, drawn mostly in short, crabbed lines, have been exhibited only twice before — once in Manhattan (2016) and once in London (2017).
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2019
No one can accuse this Court of having a crabbed view of the reach of its competence.
—WSJ, 27 June 2019
The core error here is the Texas Supreme Court’s crabbed understanding of Obergefell.
—Dale Carpenter, Washington Post, 2 July 2017
Adjective
This is a crabbed and mendacious interpretation of the law.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Tár, though, displays little more than crabbed irritability and self-serving cynicism.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2022
This is a truly crabbed and reductive view of the man and his work.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2021
Guston’s searingly funny caricatures of Richard M. Nixon and his corrupt White House cronies, drawn mostly in short, crabbed lines, have been exhibited only twice before — once in Manhattan (2016) and once in London (2017).
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2019
No one can accuse this Court of having a crabbed view of the reach of its competence.
—WSJ, 27 June 2019
The core error here is the Texas Supreme Court’s crabbed understanding of Obergefell.
—Dale Carpenter, Washington Post, 2 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crabbed
Adjective
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Madison, whose full name is Mikaela Madison Rosberg, first rose to fame for the role of a sullen teenager in the FX comedy Better Things.—
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz,
StyleCaster,
3 Mar. 2025
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Then Chloe pointed out her boyfriend across the room ... revealing none other than a sullen Greg eating at their table, alone.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
EW.com,
17 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The year before, the prison had been the site of two back-to-back riots in which inmates had burned mattresses to protest inadequate medical care and the persistent use of solitary confinement to punish prisoners who complained.—
Jesse Hyde,
Rolling Stone,
4 Jan. 2025
-
On March 4, 2021, Williams complained to Rollins that everyone was still ignoring his advice.—
Joshua Kaplan,
ProPublica,
4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The United States’s three most powerful European allies disagree with its plan for ending the brutal, destructive stalemate in Ukraine, with Germany the most disagreeable.—
Dominic Green,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
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Sometimes that means confronting disagreeable people.—
David Plazas,
The Tennessean,
24 Apr. 2024
Verb
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The couple welcomed two children, True, 6, and Tatum, 2, but their romance was marred by Thompson's multiple cheating scandals.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
4 Jan. 2025
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But others argue these budget controls are ensuring Connecticut won’t return to the 2010s, a decade marred by frequent annual deficits and some of the largest tax hikes in state history.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The best picture-winning boxing drama paired up-and-coming boxer Maggie (Hilary Swank) with grumpy reluctant coach Frankie (Clint Eastwood).—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
-
The pair meet after the guy picks up a prescription for an extremely gnarly black eye, setting off a whirlwind romance that’s inevitably disrupted by — what else? — a grumpy parent.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Lincoln Hospital was where Shirley Vasquez and all the other parents, like her, took their children when they were injured or ill.—
Cary Goodman,
New York Daily News,
5 Jan. 2025
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People who don’t understand, like, people get injured.—
Law Murray,
The Athletic,
5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The Pacific Northwest, which has played host to a series of surly atmospheric rivers and a bomb cyclone in recent days, should finally quiet down, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys told USA TODAY on Sunday as that national weather picture for the holiday grew sharper.—
John Bacon,
USA TODAY,
24 Nov. 2024
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Greg and Tanya show up in Season 2, after the surly Greg insisted on a Sicilian trip.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
17 Feb. 2025
Verb
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His vengeance included turning Michigan State in for NCAA violations, leading to probation that crippled the program until the late 1970s.—
Joe Rexrode,
The Athletic,
31 Dec. 2024
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As the city litigated and revised the environmental impact report, two devastating storms in December 2023 and February 2024 — the same series that crippled San Diego’s Ocean Beach Pier — substantially damaged the wharf.—
Noah Haggerty,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Crabbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crabbed. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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