cantankerousness
Persistent bad temper
Cantankerousness is the quality of being bad-tempered, argumentative, and difficult to deal with.
The word often describes a habitual disposition rather than a passing mood—someone known for their cantankerousness is reliably grumpy and contrary: His cantankerousness made him a difficult neighbor.
The trait is sometimes viewed with grudging affection, especially in elderly people.
Ill-tempered rudeness
- testinessEasily provoked irritation
- irascibilityTendency to anger easily
- querulousnessHabitual fretful discontent
- petulanceIrritable, childish impatience
crossness · crotchetiness · grumpiness · moroseness · sourness · ill-humor · snappishness · touchiness
Unyielding adherence to position
- intransigenceRefusal to compromise
- contrarinessHabitual disposition to oppose
- mulishnessUnyielding resistance to persuasion
- pigheadednessStubborn refusal to yield
bullheadedness · willfulness · recalcitrance · perversity · obduracy · hardheadedness · inflexibility · uncooperativeness
Fondness for verbal combat
- contentiousnessDisposition toward disagreement
- belligerenceWarlike aggression
- combativenessInclination toward conflict
- argumentativenessDisposition to dispute
friction · discord · strife · antagonism · hostility · acrimony · bickering · squabbling
surliness
Ill-tempered rudeness
- testinessEasily provoked irritation
- irascibilityTendency to anger easily
- querulousnessHabitual fretful discontent
petulance · crossness · crotchetiness · grumpiness · moroseness · sourness · ill-humor · snappishness · touchiness · tetchiness
obstinacy
Unyielding adherence to position
- intransigenceRefusal to compromise
- contrarinessHabitual disposition to oppose
- mulishnessUnyielding resistance to persuasion
pigheadedness · bullheadedness · willfulness · recalcitrance · perversity · obduracy · hardheadedness · inflexibility · uncooperativeness · waywardness
disputatiousness
Fondness for verbal combat
- contentiousnessDisposition toward disagreement
- belligerenceWarlike aggression
- combativenessInclination toward conflict
argumentativeness · friction · discord · strife · antagonism · hostility · acrimony · bickering · squabbling · feuding
- bad attitudesnegativity, cynicism, pessimism, hostility, contempt
- grumpinessgrumpiness, moodiness, sullenness, irritability, testiness
- combativenessaggression, antagonism, belligerence, bellicosity, combativeness
cantankerousnessagreeableness
Pleasant, cooperative nature
affability · amiability · good-naturedness · geniality · congeniality
cantankerous, crankiness, peevishness, grouchiness, churlishness, quarrelsomeness, cantankerously, disagreeableness