ill-natured

/ɪlˈneɪʧərd/

Someone who's ill-natured is cranky and disagreeable. Most fairy tales have at least one ill-natured antagonist, an evil stepmother or a ferocious ogre.

Mean and nasty people are sometimes just plain ill-natured — it's not in their nature to be generous and cheerful. Your ill-natured cat probably scratches anyone who tries to pet her. Bad kitty. This unfriendly adjective combines ill-, "badly" or "not well," with natured, from nature and its "innate disposition" meaning. The Latin root is natura, "natural character or quality."

Definitions of ill-natured

1. adjective

   having an irritable and unpleasant disposition
   synonyms:

   atrabilious, bilious, dyspeptic, liverish

   irritable as if suffering from indigestion

   bristly, prickly, splenetic, waspish

   very irritable

   cantankerous, crotchety, ornery

   having a difficult and contrary disposition

   choleric, hot-tempered, hotheaded, irascible, quick-tempered, short-tempered

   quickly aroused to anger

   churlish

   having a bad disposition; surly

   bad-tempered, crabbed, crabby, cross, fussy, grouchy, grumpy, ill-tempered

   annoyed and irritable

   cranky, fractious, irritable, nettlesome, peckish, peevish, pettish, petulant, scratchy, snarky, techy, testy, tetchy

   easily irritated or annoyed

   crusty, curmudgeonly, gruff, ill-humored, ill-humoured

   brusque and surly and forbidding

   currish

   resembling a cur; snarling and rude

   dark, dour, glowering, glum, moody, morose, saturnine, sour, sullen

   showing a brooding ill humor

   disagreeable

   unpleasant to interact with

   huffish, sulky

   sullen or moody

   misanthropic, misanthropical

   hating mankind in general

   misogynistic, misogynous

   hating women in particular

   shirty, snorty

   (British informal) ill-tempered or annoyed

   nagging, shrewish, termagant

   continually complaining or faultfinding

   snappish, snappy

   apt to speak irritably

   spoiled, spoilt

   having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention

   surly, ugly

   inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace

   vinegarish, vinegary

   having a sour disposition; ill-tempered

   unpleasant

   disagreeable to the senses, to the mind, or feelings

   antonyms:

   good-natured

   having an easygoing and cheerful disposition

   agreeable

   conforming to one's own liking or feelings or nature

   amiable, good-humored, good-humoured

   disposed to please

   equable, even-tempered, good-tempered, placid

   not easily irritated

   kind

   having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior

   pleasant

   affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings