testy
"If I knew," I replied testily, "I wouldn't be asking."
He manhandles the equipment, testily blaming newfangled technology when he has difficulty with basic tasks such as placing a compact disc in a player.
He reacted testily to being described as the party's "attack dog" in an interview.
“And why would I joke about that?” asked Joanna testily.
The Board of Education asks testily how the Health Department knew about the absenteeism, as they certainly didn't report it to anyone.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Bad-tempered
argumentative
bad-tempered
be hell on wheelsidiom
be like a bear with a sore headidiom
be spoiling for a fightidiom
grouchiness
grouchy
grumpily
grumpiness
grumpy
pettish
pettishly
petulance
petulancy
petulant
stroppy
surlily
surliness
testiness
testy

Examples of testily

testily
It was not, therefore, very surprising that the acute and forcible observations of a traveler they knew would be listened to should be received testily.
From Project Gutenberg
This the father said, throwing down his cards somewhat testily.
From Project Gutenberg
Slab assured her testily, striving to disguise his own impatience.
From Project Gutenberg
He even asked himself testily why people like that wanted to come to a summer dwelling in the middle of winter.
From Project Gutenberg
They woke testily, and with no thanks to us, even though it was by their orders that we called them.
From Project Gutenberg
Some of them he testily disobeyed, was punished compassionately, and learned respect and a kind of love for the mecs.
From Project Gutenberg
He was reflecting testily on the peculiar reticence of his wife.
From Project Gutenberg
Sometimes the two spirits are hostile; they are angry with each other, and fight; and hate each other, and buzz testily.
From Project Gutenberg
The paper rustled testily and was raised a few inches higher.
From Project Gutenberg
He in reality felt testily apologetic towards all mankind that he could not avert death at last.
From Project Gutenberg
He coughed testily, and before his important eyes he held a blue-book upside down.
From Project Gutenberg
At that a gentleman remarked, testily, to hide his own agitation, that dogs really had very little sense.
From Project Gutenberg
The moderator took off his glasses, and testily rapped the dented table.
From Project Gutenberg
The miller broke in testily.
From Project Gutenberg
She stamped testily with her small foot.
From Project Gutenberg
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.