querulous
adjective
Did you know?
English speakers have called fretful whiners querulous since late medieval times. The Middle English form of the word, querelose, was an adaptation of the Latin adjective, querulus, which in turn evolved from the Latin verb queri, meaning "to complain." Queri is also an ancestor of the English words quarrel and quarrelsome, but it isn't an ancestor of the noun query, meaning "question." No need to complain that we're being coy; we're happy to let you know that query descends from the Latin verb quaerere, meaning "to ask."
Examples of querulous in a Sentence
Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
This canonical part has been played by some of the foremost women of the British stage, among them Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Edith Evans, who, in Anthony Asquith’s 1952 film adaptation, put a delightfully querulous spin on Lady Bracknell’s most indelible lines.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 17 Nov. 2025
Trying to Kill Each Other' And Walken is marvelous — querulous, petty, cruel — as the Emperor.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
Instead, Gerwig and Baumbach promote querulous sloganeering.
—Armond White, National Review, 19 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for querulous
Cite this Entry
“Querulous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/querulous. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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querulous
adjective
