ill-natured
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
-
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
- show more antonyms...
-
atrabilious, bilious, dyspeptic, liverish
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘ill-natured'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Look up ill-natured for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
