disgruntled
English
WOTD – 31 January 2026
Etymology
From disgruntle + -ed (suffix forming past tense and past participle forms of verbs).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /dɪsˈɡɹʌntl̩d/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /dɪsˈɡɹʌnt(ə)ld/
Audio (General American): (file) - Rhymes: -ʌntəld
- Hyphenation: dis‧gruntl‧ed
Adjective
disgruntled (comparative more disgruntled, superlative most disgruntled)
- In a dissatisfied, frustrated, or upset mood; in a bad temper or ill humour.
- Synonyms: discontent, displeased, unsatisfied
- Antonyms: content, contented, (chiefly humorous) gruntled, satisfied, undisgruntled
- disgruntled employees preparing to strike over the lack of progress in talks with their employer on pay and conditions
- 1922 April, Paul Rosenfeld, “The Water-colours of John Marin: A Note on the Work of the First American Painter of the Day”, in John Peale Bishop, editor, Vanity Fair, volume 18, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Vanity Fair Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 48, column 2:
- About John Marin, there move sad, disgruntled beings, full of talk and lamentations. […] They bewail the fact that in America, soil is poor and unconducive to growth, and men remain unmoved by growing green. But Marin persists, and what ebullience and good humour, in the rocky ungentle loam?
- 1960 June, “Talking of Trains: Week-end Diversions”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 323:
- A good proportion of British Railways' most disgruntled main line passengers will be found among those who have to make long-distance journeys at week-ends, when trains are apt to be diverted and re-timed because of large-scale engineering works.
Derived terms
- disgruntledly
- disgruntledness
- gruntled (a back-formation)
- undisgruntled
Related terms
Translations
in a dissatisfied, frustrated, or upset mood; in a bad temper or ill humour
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Verb
disgruntled
- simple past and past participle of disgruntle
Further reading
- contentment on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “disgruntled, adj.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2025.
- “disgruntled, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.