I have been recently described as a “rantankerous old man” by a friend. I think he meant cantankerous but I think the word rantankerous is much better. This dictionary claims it isnt a word, so I hereby propose it as the concatenation of ranting and contankerous, multiplied by the third derivative of rancorous.
ran•tan•ker•ous
–adjective [ran-tang-ker-uhs] /ˈrænˈtæŋkərəs/
- disagreeable to deal with; contentious; peevish: a rantankerous, argumentative old man.
- moans constantly about stupid things that dont actually matter and will obviously never happen
- Bitter, long-lasting resentment; deep-seated ill will.
- refers only to those over 50, or simply those who believe they are
- uses phrases like “big brother”, “civil liberties”, “anti-toff movement”, “champagne socialism” and “the nanny state”.
- having a difficult and contrary disposition; “a rantankerous and venomous-tongued old lady”
- when irritated barks: “you simply don’t understand what they are hiding from you” as if that will win the argument
Actually, according to Merriam-Webster’s collegiate thesaurus, rantankerous is a synonym to cantankerous
See the following URL:
http://books.google.com/books?id=9CDiT873388C&pg=PA601&lpg=PA601&dq=rantankerous+antonym&source=web&ots=rfB6-Q-_R8&sig=SsDJ1GnkxKUFEqPV_ji1Fz62ae0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
Interesting.
You have described the word rantankerous , which has been used (since my lady first thought of it, many, many years ago) top describe me too, with alarming regularity!
Great minds think alike, as it is said, and duffers never differ! Hail fellow rantankerous person!