Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Easily offended or annoyed; ill-tempered or belligerent.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective UK, Australia, New Zealand, slang Ornery, fractious, belligerent, or obstreperous, and hence difficult to deal with.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective obstreperous

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps alteration of obstreperous.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From obstropulous, obsolete slang for obstreperous.

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Examples

  • And getting stroppy is not going to work. on January 16, 2008 at 10: 10 am | Reply plod999

    Cross and Rude. « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2008

  • When I mentioned it, Cheryl got kind of stroppy, and moved us to another room which was like a coffee room or a public library - people everywhere!!!

    sheepdip Diary Entry sheepdip 2003

  • Talking to the Evening Standard, Sally Bercow, 40, admitted drinking to excess most evenings, engaging in one-night stands and being "stroppy".

    The Latest From www.politics.co.uk 2009

  • She also argued that descriptions of her as "stroppy" reflected a double standard in the treatment of male and female politicians.

    New Statesman 2009

  • Talking to the Evening Standard, Sally Bercow, 40, admitted drinking to excess most evenings, engaging in one-night stands and being "stroppy".

    The Latest From www.politics.co.uk 2009

  • Ms Smith did say, however, that she had been annoyed by being described as "stroppy" on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, adding she had never heard a man described as that.

    icCoventry 2009

  • Personally I would rather be termed offensive, rude or crass than "stroppy".

    Cactus Kate 2009

  • Talking to the Evening Standard, Sally Bercow, 40, admitted drinking to excess most evenings, engaging in one-night stands and being "stroppy".

    The Latest From www.politics.co.uk 2009

  • perhaps they should have sister establishment in Edinburgh called 'stroppy'!

    Sunny train trip Jes 2009

  • The only course of action that I can see is for the parent to be able to impose their will on the stroppy teenager without fear of prosecution.

    Purple Pain « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

Comments

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  • Excellent word! I especially like the phrase "get all stroppy."

    February 22, 2007