Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cantankerous \Can*tan"ker*ous\, a.
   Perverse; contentious; ugly; malicious. [Colloq.] --
   {Can*tan"ker*ous*ly}, adv. -- {Can*tan"ker*ous*ness}, n.

         The cantankerous old maiden aunt.        --Thackeray.

Source : WordNet®

cantankerous
     adj 1: stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate;
            "unions...have never been as bloody-minded about
            demarcation as the shipbuilders"- Spectator [syn: {bloody-minded}]
     2: having a difficult and contrary disposition; "a cantankerous
        and venomous-tongued old lady"- Dorothy Sayers [syn: {crotchety},
         {ornery}]