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Her tone was petulant and angry.
a petulant and fussy man who is always blaming everyone else for his problems
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'petulant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Petulant is one of many English words that are related to the Latin verb petere, which means "to go to," "to attack," "to seek," or "to request." "Petere" is a relative of the Latin adjective petulans ("impudent"), from which "petulant" was derived. Some other words with connections to "petere" are "compete" and "appetite." "Competere," the Late Latin precursor to "compete," is a combination of the prefix com- and the verb "petere." The joining of ad- and petere led to "appetere" ("to strive after"), and eventually to Latin appetitus, the source of our "appetite." Additional descendants of "petere" are "petition," "perpetual," and "impetus."
First Known Use: 1598
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearcholeric, crabby, cranky, cross, crotchety, fiery, grouchy, grumpy, irascible, irritable, peevish, perverse, pettish, prickly, quick-tempered, raspy, short-tempered, snappish, snappy, snippy, stuffy, testy, waspish;
affable, companionable, cordial, extroverted (also extraverted), friendly, genial, gregarious, outgoing, sociable;
agreeable, amiable, good-natured, good-tempered, sweet, well-disposed;
carefree, easygoing, happy-go-lucky, relaxed;
forbearing, long-suffering, obliging, patient, stoic (or stoical), tolerant, uncomplaining, understanding;
bearish, bilious, cantankerous, cross-grained, curmudgeonly, disagreeable, dyspeptic, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, off-color (or off-colored), ornery, querulous, snarly, surly;
argumentative, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, disputatious, fractious, fretful, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent;
huffy, pouty, sensitive, short, sulky, sullen, tetchy, thin-skinned, touchy;
out of humor, out of sorts;
: having or showing the attitude of people who become angry and annoyed when they do not get what they want
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for petulant Spanish Central: Translation of petulant Nglish: Translation of petulant for Spanish speakers
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