How to Use irascible in a Sentence
irascible
adjective-
The more the rest of the world complains, the more irascible China sounds.
—The Economist, 24 May 2018
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Berry was his irascible self during the filming of the film, Hail!
—Jeff Slate, Esquire, 19 Mar. 2017
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In a bizarre episode, the irascible Jones just walked off the field Aug. 3 following a contentious rep.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2023
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The fate of one irascible canine, however, spurs her to vie for a spot on the training team.
—Robert Abele, latimes.com, 8 June 2017
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So the brilliant, grumpy and irascible priest of old times is gone, and — with him — goes a priceless oral history of the blues and thousands of songs.
—George Varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, 10 July 2018
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For the irascible Greg, a column about grammar is a no-brainer.
—Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024
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The old woman, whom Benji calls his Bubbe, has a brusque and irascible manner.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022
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This guy is erratic and difficult and irascible, and all of that is fun to play.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2020
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She may be best known for the character of the irascible Ramona Quimby.
—Kathy Laskowski, sun-sentinel.com, 28 Mar. 2021
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By that time, the Sixers were fully committed to The Process and a long rebuild, and irascible Philly fans had grown more patient.
—Tim Rohan, SI.com, 9 Aug. 2017
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This 6-episode Netflix docuseries is about the irascible, fearless reporter who went on TV, day after day, and railed against the mafia.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 26 July 2022
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Trump has often seemed eager to move on from the Army three-star general, who has struggled to bond with his irascible boss.
—James Hohmann, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2018
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Princeton was led by Carril, the school’s irascible, diminutive coach who passed away in August.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 11 Dec. 2022
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Rick is someone who has a great deal of irascible energy.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2023
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An irascible, down-on-his-luck coach is reluctantly put in charge of a ragtag team of misfits who can barely play the game.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2023
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On paper, the irascible Thomas was the polar opposite of his protégé.
—Grace Segers, The New Republic, 11 Aug. 2022
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In contrast to the mild, placid Allen, Mahaney is an irascible mountain man who could start an argument in an empty room.
—Smithsonian, 29 July 2017
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In contrast to the mild, placid Allen, Mahaney is an irascible mountain man who could start an argument in an empty room.
—Smithsonian, 28 June 2017
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Gabriella Fanuele is prickly and irascible as Jania, who works with the school’s special needs students.
—Sam Hurwitt, The Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2019
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That irascible, independent streak is part of what made him beloved and led to him receiving the nation’s top prize for humor.
—Washington Post, 16 May 2017
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Fans of the show remember Tarantina as Jackie, the irascible emcee at the Gaslight comedy club.
—Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2020
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Not all of Reeves’ companions are irascible older white men.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023
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Paul, on track to win a third term this year, has promised to investigate the origins of the pandemic, a pet issue for the irascible conservative.
—Trish Turner, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2022
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Few expect the sometimes-irascible politician to sit by idly in a future Arce government.
—Carlos Valdez and Joshua Goodman, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2020
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Jefferson claimed that under Adams’s crusty surface, the irascible Yankee was as warm and amiable as a person could be.
—Gordon S. Wood, WSJ, 13 Oct. 2017
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The tone foreshadows what would surely be an irascible campaign if the answer to the question about whether DeSantis is running is yes.
—Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2023
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Jackson’s version of John Shaft was already distinct from Roundtree’s — more irascible, less smooth, more Jackson-y.
—Jesse Hassenger, The Verge, 21 June 2019
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Adapted from a 1990s tome, the film follows the long apprenticeship between a lonely bear and an irascible hermit.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 14 Mar. 2023
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Upstairs, in a quiet corner, Rupert Murdoch gave Ed Koch a ribbing, the irascible mayor — into his third term — cowed by a tabloid king still on his way up.
—Jay Cheshes, Town & Country, 6 Feb. 2013
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The girls, for instance, love to pretend to be a couple of irascible grannies, usually causing trouble for the people around them, but occasionally proving helpful.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'irascible.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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