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verbiestert

grumpy, embittered

adjective fer-BEE-stert Rare
Descriptions & Qualities Personality

Also means

sour, chronically irritable

Usage Note

Verbiestert is a vivid colloquial adjective for someone who is sourly cantankerous over a long time — more extreme than griesgrämig, suggesting entrenched bitterness. Common in northern Germany; used in fiction for irascible old characters.

Examples

"Der verbiesterte Hausmeister vertrieb jeden, der sich dem Eingang näherte."

Natural Translation

The grumpy janitor drove off everyone who approached the entrance.

Literal Translation

The embittered janitor drove-off everyone who the entrance approached.

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