cantankerous

/kænˈtæŋkəɹəs/

//kænˈtæŋkəɹəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cantankerous" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cantankerous” is uncommon English (frequency #63,492 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,492
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Given to or marked by an ill-tempered, quarrelsome nature; ill-tempered, cranky, crabby.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cantankerous · cantankerous · English

cantankerous · rank #63,492 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,492
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH canst

Nearest frequency peer: canst (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “cantankerous”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cantankerous” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cantankerous
PropertyValue
Headwordcantankerous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kænˈtæŋkəɹəs/
Letters12
Frequency rank#63,492
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cantankerous” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).cantankerousfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “canst” (#63,491), “cannoli” (#63,490), “CARICOM” (#63,494). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cantankerous” is #63,492. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cantankerous is uncommon English at frequency #63,492 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /kænˈtæŋkəɹəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Given to or marked by an ill-tempered, quarrelsome nature; ill-tempered, cranky, crabby.".

cantankerous has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Perhaps derived from earlier contenkerous, from contentious + rancorous. The correct English form is cantankerous, spelled C-A-N-T-A-N-K-E-R-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Given to or marked by an ill-tempered, quarrelsome nature; ill-tempered, cranky, crabby.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cantankerous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "She is a cantankerous old maid," added another, whom I recognised, by his voice, as a man whose attentions I had put a determined check to not six weeks before: "she is a cantankerous old maid, fretting and snarling over the loss of her beauty."
  2. Murphy's Law never proved itself more accurate than at the Nov. 18 film benefit for Persephone Press. With problems ranging from a cantankerous projector to blown fuses, the presentations of Jan Oxenberg's films were blurred, disrupted and played with lapses in their soundtracks.

Etymology

Perhaps derived from earlier contenkerous, from contentious + rancorous.

This word in other languages

intratable(Español)irritable(Français)launisch(Deutsch)ranzinza(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cantankerous"?
"cantankerous" is spelled C-A-N-T-A-N-K-E-R-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kænˈtæŋkəɹəs/.
What does "cantankerous" mean?
As an adjective, "cantankerous" means: Given to or marked by an ill-tempered, quarrelsome nature; ill-tempered, cranky, crabby.
How do you pronounce "cantankerous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cantankerous" is /kænˈtæŋkəɹəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cantankerous"?
Perhaps derived from earlier contenkerous, from contentious + rancorous. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cantankerous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

businesslike#63,485Braunschweig#63,476cohesiveness#63,516uncritically#63,336

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list