1
: marked by a forbidding moroseness
a crabbed view of human nature
2
: difficult to read or understand
crabbed handwriting
crabbedness
noun
Examples of crabbed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This is a crabbed and mendacious interpretation of the law.
—
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Tár, though, displays little more than crabbed irritability and self-serving cynicism.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2022
This is a truly crabbed and reductive view of the man and his work.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2021
Guston’s searingly funny caricatures of Richard M. Nixon and his corrupt White House cronies, drawn mostly in short, crabbed lines, have been exhibited only twice before — once in Manhattan (2016) and once in London (2017).
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2019
No one can accuse this Court of having a crabbed view of the reach of its competence.
—WSJ, 27 June 2019
The core error here is the Texas Supreme Court’s crabbed understanding of Obergefell.
—Dale Carpenter, Washington Post, 2 July 2017
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Tár, though, displays little more than crabbed irritability and self-serving cynicism.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2022
This is a truly crabbed and reductive view of the man and his work.
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2021
Guston’s searingly funny caricatures of Richard M. Nixon and his corrupt White House cronies, drawn mostly in short, crabbed lines, have been exhibited only twice before — once in Manhattan (2016) and once in London (2017).
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2019
No one can accuse this Court of having a crabbed view of the reach of its competence.
—WSJ, 27 June 2019
The core error here is the Texas Supreme Court’s crabbed understanding of Obergefell.
—Dale Carpenter, Washington Post, 2 July 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crabbed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crabbed
Cite this Entry
“Crabbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crabbed. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crabbed
adjective
crab·bed
ˈkrab-əd 
2
: difficult to read or understand
crabbed handwriting
crabbedness
noun
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