Word
curmudgeon
脾气坏、固执的老人；乖戾的老人
a bad-tempered, stubborn old person who is easily annoyed
- 1.
An ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions, often an older man.
脾气暴躁、固执己见的人,常指老年男性。
脾气暴躁、固执己见的人,常指老年男性。；脾气坏的人；吝啬鬼
In use
The old man next door is a bit of a curmudgeon, but he always feeds the stray cats.
Our retired neighbor is a friendly curmudgeon who grumbles about everything yet helps everyone.
The curmudgeons at the café complained about the new music every single morning.
be a curmudgeon
curmudgeon 是名词，指脾气坏、固执的老人，语气诙谐或略带贬义。
My grandfather is a curmudgeon.
我爷爷是个脾气坏、固执的人。
call sb a curmudgeon
The article called him a curmudgeon.
那篇文章称他是个脾气坏、固执的人。
Common mistakes
He is old curmudgeon who lives next door.He is an old curmudgeon who lives next door.
curmudgeon 是可数名词，单数可数名词作表语时前面必须有冠词。中文没有冠词，所以学习者容易漏掉 an，应说 an old curmudgeon。
My little brother is a curmudgeon when he doesn't get what he wants.My little brother is a grouch when he doesn't get what he wants.
curmudgeon 在词典释义中特指“脾气坏、固执的老人”，不能用来形容小孩。表示小孩发脾气时应用 grouch 等不带年龄限制的词，以保留原意。
Connections
Collocations
- old curmudgeon
- 乖戾的老人
- The old curmudgeon next door always complains about the noise.隔壁那个乖戾的老人总是抱怨吵闹声。
- lovable curmudgeon
- 可爱的老顽固
- Despite his complaints, he is a lovable curmudgeon.尽管他爱抱怨，他却是个可爱的老顽固。
- cantankerous curmudgeon
- 暴躁乖戾的人
- The cantankerous curmudgeon refused to let anyone park in front of his house.那个暴躁乖戾的老人不让任何人把车停在他家门前。
- become a curmudgeon
- 变成乖戾的人
- He became a curmudgeon after he retired.退休后他变成了一个乖戾的人。
- professional curmudgeon
- 职业坏脾气者
- The columnist is a professional curmudgeon who criticizes everything.那位专栏作家是个职业坏脾气者，对一切都加以批评。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
想象一只坏脾气的老狗(cur)在泥(mud)里打滚，谁靠近就吼——curmudgeon 就是暴躁固执的老头。
Context & Register
语域：informal 常见场景：casual conversation、humorous or sarcastic articles curmudgeon 多用于口语或带幽默、讽刺意味的语境，语气不太正式，常指脾气不好且固执的老人。正式写作中较少见，但偶尔出现于文学描写。
Pronunciation & Spelling
与 curmudgeon 押韵的词（重读元音及后续音相同）有 bludgeon、dudgeon、gudgeon（均以 /ʌdʒən/ 结尾）。注意 dungeon 拼写相似但读音为 /ˈdʌndʒən/，多一个 /n/ 音，并非完全押韵；pigeon（/ˈpɪdʒɪn/）和 surgeon（/ˈsɜːrdʒən/）拼写相近但元音不同。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.