To save this word, you'll need to log in.
\ ˈpēv 
\
\peeved; peeving
Definition of peeve
(Entry 1 of 2)
peeve
nounDefinition of peeve (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : a feeling or mood of resentment
2 : a particular grievance or source of aggravation
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms for peeve
Synonyms: Verb
- aggravate,
- annoy,
- bother,
- bug,
- burn (up),
- chafe,
- eat,
- exasperate,
- frost,
- gall,
- get,
- grate,
- gripe,
- hack (off),
- irk,
- irritate,
- itch,
- nark
- [British],
- nettle,
- persecute,
- pique,
- put out,
- rasp,
- rile,
- ruffle,
- spite,
- vex
Synonyms: Noun
- aggravation,
- aggro
- [British],
- annoyance,
- bother,
- botheration,
- bugbear,
- exasperation,
- frustration,
- hair shirt,
- hassle,
- headache,
- inconvenience,
- irk,
- irritant,
- nuisance,
- pest,
- rub,
- ruffle,
- thorn,
- trial,
- vexation
Examples of peeve in a Sentence
Verb
she is constantly peeved by his habit of humming show tunes while she is trying to focus on her work Noun
One of her peeves is people who are always late.
my main peeve with the animal welfare organization is the endless stream of unsolicited trinkets in my mailbox
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb In a press conference, after the Mobile County Health Department shut down bars and dine-in restaurant service, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson was peeved.
—
Kyle Whitmire, al, "As county cases lead state, Mobile mayor doesn’t learn," 30 Apr. 2020 Buttigieg, 38, declared victory early on Monday night based on his campaign's internal figures, peeving his rivals.
—
Emily Larsen, Washington Examiner, "Pete Buttigieg edges out Bernie Sanders for delegates in Iowa caucuses," 9 Feb. 2020 Trump appeared peeved by the schoolhouse vibe but also allergic to the dynamic of his advisers talking at him.
—
Carol D. Leonnig, Philip Rucker, Anchorage Daily News, "‘You’re a bunch of dopes and babies’: Inside Trump’s stunning tirade against generals," 17 Jan. 2020 The union is peeved by the populist governments in the region, and funds will be redirected away from the comparatively booming central Europeans.
—
The Economist, "Can the good run of central Europe’s economies last?," 24 Oct. 2019 Saban, the Alabama football coach, has long been peeved that the student section at Bryant-Denny Stadium empties early.
—
New York Times, "Orwellabama? Crimson Tide Track Locations to Keep Students at Games," 12 Sep. 2019 Meantime, what particularly peeves umps is that TV box.
—
Ben Walker, The Denver Post, "With each pitch at World Series, call gets louder for robot umps," 29 Oct. 2019 Kathy Napierala of Silver Spring, Md., was peeved by that Geico commercial where kids are playing Marco Polo in a swimming pool with . . .
—
John Kelly, Washington Post, "Can you knit a quilt? Of course not. And Marco Polo didn’t ride a llama to China.," 9 Sep. 2019 Paul Blackburn Blackburn was peeved the last time the A’s sent him down.
—
Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, "Welcome to the bigs — and Yankee Stadium — Sean Murphy," 1 Sep. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun They were supposed to mate, but, when a guy from the zoo came to collect them, it was discovered that Toby’s father had been harboring two males—imagine his peeve.
—
Han Ong, The New Yorker, "Futures," 23 Mar. 2020 The list clearly resonated among readers, who responded in force with peeves of their own.
—
Lettie Teague, WSJ, "7 Reasons We Love Wine," 13 Feb. 2020 However, copy chief Carolyn Pavia-Rauchman found yet another peeve related to distracted driving.
—
David Beard, Car and Driver, "Our Subaru Ascent Drinks Heavily When Towing," 24 Jan. 2020 One of Corey Gauff’s peeves is that too many parents don’t encourage their kids to dream big.
—
Wayne Coffey, USA TODAY, "Tennis sensation Coco Gauff embraces Michelle Obama's advice for the U.S. Open and beyond," 22 Aug. 2019 One final peeve: The endless hand-wringing (hair-pulling?) about whether or not wearing one of Revel’s (mandatory) helmets is going to give you lice.
—
Corey Seymour, Vogue, "Stop Whining About Revel Scooters And Just Say Yes," 16 Aug. 2019 My biggest peeve, however, is the ultra-bright and wholly unnecessary light on the handle.
—
Christopher Null, WIRED, "Which Toothbrush Subscription Service Is the Best?," 6 June 2019 ELLE Decor caught up with Marino to talk process, procrastination, and pet-peeves.
—
Charles Curkin, ELLE Decor, "Architect Peter Marino Believes in Retail But Not in Bad Design," 14 Nov. 2018 Now my peeve: Laguna puts a lot of emphasis on those tide pools but closes its eyes to the shops in town that sell shells and starfish.
—
latimes.com, "Protecting tide pools is critical but why not stop selling starfish and shells?," 3 July 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'peeve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about peeve
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
Why Do We Have 'Pet Peeves'?
Why Do We Have 'Pet Peeves'?
Are they different from 'feral peeves'?
Dictionary Entries near peeve
See More Nearby EntriesStatistics for peeve
Last Updated
9 May 2020
Look-up Popularity
Cite this Entry
“Peeve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peeve. Accessed 6 Jul. 2020.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on peeve
What made you want to look up peeve? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
A More Exception(al) Quiz
- Which of the following words is not a synonym for ‘a young person’?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Share peeve
Time Traveler for peeve
The first known use of peeve was in 1901
See more words from the same year