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: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)