The AI-powered English dictionary
comparative crankier, superlative crankiest
(of a machine, etc.) Not in good working condition. quotations examples
We had seven canoes, all of them dugouts. One was small, one was cranky, and two were old, waterlogged, and leaky. The other three were good.
1914, Theodore Roosevelt, Through the Brazilian Wilderness: The River of Doubt
Grouchy, grumpy, irritable; easily upset. examples
Not in perfect mental working order; eccentric, peculiar. quotations examples
Uncle Esau is as cranky as hell, and a peculiar old duck, but I think he'll like a fine upstanding young man as big as you be.
1934 December, Robert E. Howard, “The Road to Bear Creek”, in Action Stories
Synonym of crank (“of a ship: liable to capsize because of poorly stowed cargo or insufficient ballast”) examples
(archaic) Full of spirit; spirited.
(obsolete) Weak, unwell.