crabbed — [krab′id] adj. [< CRAB1, infl. by CRAB2] 1. peevish; morose; cross 2. hard to understand because intricate or complicated 3. hard to read or make out because cramped or irregular [crabbed handwriting] crabbedly … English World dictionary
crabbed — index perverse, petulant, recondite Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
crabbed — (adj.) late 14c., lit. resembling a crab, in reference to crookedness, from CRAB (Cf. crab) (1). Of taste bitter, harsh, late 14c., from CRAB (Cf. crab) (2). Meaning peevish is attested from 1560s, in reference to a crab s combative disposition … Etymology dictionary
crabbed — *sullen, surly, glum, morose, gloomy, sulky, saturnine, dour Analogous words: crusty, gruff, brusque, blunt (see BLUFF): testy, choleric, cranky, cross, splenetic, *irascible: snappish, huffy, *irritable Contrasted words: *amiable, good natured,… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
crabbed — meaning ‘irritable’ or ‘hard to decipher’, is pronounced as two syllables … Modern English usage
crabbed — ► ADJECTIVE 1) (of writing) hard to read or understand. 2) bad tempered; crabby. ORIGIN from CRAB(Cf. ↑crablike), because of the crab s sideways gait and habit of snapping … English terms dictionary
crabbed — adjective Etymology: Middle English, partly from crabbe crustacean, partly from crabbe crab apple Date: 14th century 1. marked by a forbidding moroseness < a crabbed view of human nature > 2. difficult to read or understand … New Collegiate Dictionary
crabbed — crab|bed [ kræbəd ] adjective 1. ) crabbed writing is written in small letters that are very close together and difficult to read: CRAMPED: crabbed handwriting 2. ) OLD FASHIONED CRABBY … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
crabbed — adjective 1 writing which is crabbed is difficult to read because the letters are small and untidy 2 old fashioned someone who is crabbed always behaves as if they are annoyed; bad tempered … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
crabbed — adjective 1) her crabbed handwriting Syn: cramped, ill formed, bad, illegible, unreadable, indecipherable, hieroglyphic; shaky, spidery 2) a crabbed old man See crabby … Thesaurus of popular words
