peeve

play

verb \ ˈpēv \

Definition of peeve

peeved; peeving

transitive verb

:to make peevish or resentful :annoy

See peeve defined for kids

Examples of peeve in a Sentence

she is constantly peeved by his habit of humming show tunes while she is trying to focus on her work

Recent Examples of peeve from the Web

Miller seemed particularly peeved by liberal regrets over the killing of Native Americans.

— william d. cohan, The Hive, "How Stephen Miller Rode White Rage from Duke’s Campus to Trump’s West Wing," 9 Aug. 2017
Head was particularly peeved about this storm drain in the 700 block of Fern Street because when the road was repaved, the contractor placed asphalt too close to the drain's opening.

— angel food, NOLA.com, "New Orleans residents demand action on broken catch basins," 1 Aug. 2017
Trump's tweets peeved not only politician but also critics, as his travel ban calls and taunts of London's Muslim were sent out before any condolence messages.

— jane morice, cleveland.com, "Do you think Trump's renewed 'travel ban' call helps or hurts the case?: Talk it Out," 5 June 2017
Lowry didn’t shy away from people who showed up at some of those meetings peeved at his some of his stances, such as his early support for reparations for Japanese Americans who had been interned during World War II.

— jim brunner, The Seattle Times, "Former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry remembered as proud liberal, quietly generous," 30 May 2017
McCarthy was peeved over Pearson’s columns attacking him as a bully and demagogue for his crusade to root out communist sympathizers in the federal government.

— paul farhi, The Denver Post, "Press advocates see Trump’s words behind physical attacks on journalists," 25 May 2017
San Antonio lost 113-111 without him, squandering a 20-point halftime lead, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was peeved.

— janie mccauley, The Seattle Times, "Zaza Pachulia expected to be enemy No. 1 for Spurs fans," 19 May 2017
What peeved Hutchins most were the committee’s midseason rankings, meant to use the same criteria utilized to determine the tournament field, which had the Gophers ranked seventh in the country just a week before the seedings were announced.

— jace frederick, Twin Cities, "Hall of fame coach cries foul over Gophers’ NCAA softball slight," 16 May 2017
Back in the kitchen, steady as rock Williamson is getting peeved at Chung for loudly barking orders at her cooking partner.

— nancy luna, Orange County Register, "Top Chef recap: Will Orange County have another finalist?," 10 Feb. 2017

These 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.

Origin and Etymology of peeve

back-formation from peevish

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1901

See Words from the same year

peeve Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of peeve

irritate, exasperate, nettle, provoke, rile, peeve mean to excite a feeling of anger or annoyance. irritate implies an often gradual arousing of angry feelings that may range from mere impatience to rage.

- constant nagging that irritated me greatly

exasperate suggests galling annoyance and the arousing of extreme impatience.

- his exasperating habit of putting off needed decisions

nettle suggests a sharp but passing annoyance or stinging.

- your pompous attitude nettled several people

provoke implies an arousing of strong annoyance that may excite to action.

- remarks made solely to provoke her

rile implies inducing an angry or resentful agitation.

- the new work schedules riled the employees

peeve suggests arousing fretful often petty or querulous irritation.

- a toddler peeved at being refused a cookie

peeve

noun

Definition of peeve

1 :a feeling or mood of resentment

2 :a particular grievance or source of aggravation

See peeve defined for English-language learners

Examples of peeve in a Sentence

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