Video narration
What does "cantankerous" mean? If you know someone who complains about little everyday annoyances, you've met the sort this word describes. It's pronounced kan-TANG-kuh-rus, with the stress on the second syllable; accents can vary a little. The key: it describes someone's difficult temper, not just one annoyed moment. Now hear it in a sentence: "Cantankerous" means bad-tempered and hard to deal with: "The cantankerous man complained about the noise."