cantankerous |kanˈta ng kərəs|adjectivebad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative : a crusty, cantankerous old man.DERIVATIVEScantankerously adverbcantankerousness nounORIGIN mid 18th cent.: of unknown origin; perhaps a blend of Anglo-Irish cant [auction] and rancorous (see rancor ).
petulant |ˈpe ch ələnt|adjective(of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered : he was moody and petulant | a petulant shake of the head.DERIVATIVESpetulance nounpetulantly adverbORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the sense [immodest] ): from Frenchpétulant, from Latin petulant- ‘impudent’ (related to petere ‘aim at, seek’ ). The current sense (mid 18th cent.) is influenced by pettish .
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