grouch

/graʊtʃ/

/graʊtʃ/

Other forms: grouches; grouching; grouched

A grouch is a cranky person who complains a lot. You could describe your grumpy old Grandpa as a grouch.

Use the noun grouch when you're talking about someone who's habitually in a terrible mood. If your usual bus driver is a grouch, he's probably always yelling at his passengers. You can also use grouch as a verb, to describe what a grouch does: grumble and gripe. The word grouch was originally 1890s United States college slang that might have come from grutch, "to murmur or complain."

Definitions of grouch

1. verb

   show one's unhappiness or critical attitude
   synonyms: grumble, scold

   type of:

   complain, kick, kvetch, plain, quetch, sound off

   express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
2. noun

   a bad-tempered person
   synonyms: churl, crank, crosspatch, grump

   types:

   crab, crabby person

   a quarrelsome grouch

   fire-eater, hothead

   a belligerent grouch

   misanthrope, misanthropist

   someone who dislikes people in general

   misogynist, woman hater

   a misanthrope who dislikes women in particular

   misandrist

   a misanthrope who dislikes men in particular

   type of:

   disagreeable person, unpleasant person

   a person who is not pleasant or agreeable