petulance

noun

pet·​u·​lance ˈpe-chə-lən(t)s How to pronounce petulance (audio)
: the quality or state of being petulant : peevishness

Examples of petulance in a Sentence

I do not appreciate your petulance and eagerness to argue.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In an obvious display of childish petulance, a significant number of Democratic representatives in Texas abandoned their jobs and responsibilities to the voters by fleeing to Illinois. For The Carroll County Times, Baltimore Sun, 11 Aug. 2025 Jimmy Butler did not have to consider the fallout of petulance because he already was known as petulant. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 1 Aug. 2025 The synths sound terrible now, and the petulance is creeping in, which does him no favors. Christopher Bonanos, Vulture, 18 July 2025 For all his bombast online, for instance, Marcus has said that today’s chatbots are a legitimate breakthrough, just far from the breakthrough; for all of Altman’s petulance, OpenAI’s latest large reasoning models rely on new approaches not so dissimilar from Marcus’s own, decades-old ideas. Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 8 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for petulance

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of petulance was in 1535

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Petulance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petulance. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

petulance

noun
pet·​u·​lance ˈpech-ə-lən(t)s How to pronounce petulance (audio)
: the quality or state of being petulant

More from Merriam-Webster on petulance

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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