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Dictionary Language resources

crabbed

Syllabification: (crab·bed)

Pronunciation: /ˈkrabd/

Definition of crabbed

adjective

1(of handwriting) ill-formed and hard to decipher.
(of style) contorted and difficult to understand:crabbed legal language

2ill-humored:a crabbed, unhappy middle age

Derivatives

crabbedly
crabbedness

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'perverse, wayward'): from crab¹, because of the crab's sideways gait and habit of snapping, thought to suggest a perverse or irritable disposition