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crabbed

Pronunciation: /ˈkrabɪd, krabd/
Definition of crabbed

adjective

  • 1(of handwriting) very small and difficult to decipher: his handwriting is crabbed and hideous
  • (of style) contorted and difficult to understand:crabbed legal language
  • 2bad-tempered:a crabbed, unhappy middle age

Derivatives

crabbedly

adverb

crabbedness

noun

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'perverse, wayward'): from crab1, because of the crab's sideways gait and habit of snapping

crabbed in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of crabbed in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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