cross-grained
having the grain running transversely or diagonally, or having an irregular or gnarled grain, as timber.
stubborn; perverse.
Origin of cross-grained
1Other words from cross-grained
- cross-grainedly, adverb
- cross-grainedness, noun
Words Nearby cross-grained
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cross-grained in a sentence
When a little girl she had been almost afraid of her cross-grained relative—the only relative she had in the world.
Ruth Fielding At College | Alice B. EmersonRuth looked across the table at her cross-grained old relative and made no direct reply to his question.
Ruth Fielding At College | Alice B. EmersonThis was an agreeably different person from the nagging, cross-grained old creature who had made her life a burden!
The Myths of the North American Indians | Lewis SpenceIt was not long before somebody came to tell Belinchon of the mayor's cross-grained conduct about the music.
The Fourth Estate, vol. 2 | Armando Palacio ValdsIt is said, however, that the Duke is no fool, but so cross-grained that he spoils everything he touches.
Memoirs of the Duchesse de Dino v.1/3, 1831-1835 | Dorothy Duchesse de Dino
British Dictionary definitions for cross-grained
(of timber) having the fibres arranged irregularly or in a direction that deviates from the axis of the piece
perverse, cantankerous, or stubborn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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