(a.) Uncooperative; contentious; stubborn; as, a cantankerous patient\.

bad-tempered bearish bilious bitchy cankered choleric churlish contrary crabbed crabby cranky cross cross-grained crotchety crusty cussed difficult disagreeable dour dyspeptic excitable feisty fractious froward grouchy grumpy huffish huffy ill-conditioned ill-natured ill-tempered irascible irritable liverish mean morose ornery peevish perverse petulant prickly quarrelsome snappish sour spiteful spleeny splenetic stuffy sulky sullen surly testy tetchy touchy ugly vinegarish vinegary waspish wayward wrongheaded