as in irritable
tending towards or characterized by agitation or irritability
They finally lulled the fretful baby to sleep. I kept having fretful thoughts about what would happen if we couldn't pay our bills.
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Recent Examples of fretful
But that doesn’t mean viewers won’t be increasingly exasperated by the ways the screenplay forces Knightley’s character into a clumsy, fretful investigation.
—
The New York Times,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Investors are fretful heading into the August payrolls report.
—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
Despite the fretful retreat staged by most House Democrats, preliminary polling shows significant public support for Trump’s impeachment.
—
Chris Lehmann,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Suddenly the Toronto crowd’s sound turned from festive to fretful.
—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fretful
The New York Times,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Investors are fretful heading into the August payrolls report.
—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
Despite the fretful retreat staged by most House Democrats, preliminary polling shows significant public support for Trump’s impeachment.
—
Chris Lehmann,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Suddenly the Toronto crowd’s sound turned from festive to fretful.
—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretful
Adjective
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Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
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They can be withdrawn or irritable.
Adjective
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Though fans are anxious to see Andrade return to more events, her job in Rio is done.
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Homeless, his body torn, Odysseus needs to get back to her and Telemachus, his anxious son, and to clean up the mess.
Adjective
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For Kelly, the Mexican release is also another chapter in the unlikely afterlife of a film that has continued to attract new audiences long after its troubled theatrical debut.
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De la Espriella promised El Salvador-style mega-prisons, while Cepeda promised to salvage Petro’s troubled ‘total peace’ talks with rebel groups.
Adjective
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Now, multiple residents are left worried about what's to come next week with extremely hot temperatures in the forecast.
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With voters nationwide worried about inflation and the rising cost of living, some Californians might feel less inclined to provide full healthcare coverage to those lacking legal status.
Adjective
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Pitman grew even more agitated.
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Players grew agitated having to wait, but James was sending a message to Irving and the rest of his teammates.
Adjective
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Oprah selected it for her book club; at her compound in Montecito, Whitehead was so nervous that her staff insisted on blow-drying the damp patches of his dress shirt before they were introduced.
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The low unemployment rate had made many economists nervous, including some on the Fed.
Adjective
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Even those who are apprehensive about sardines should give this salad a try.
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Haymon was much less apprehensive of expressing her opinions, particularly her preference for Gascon’s policies.
Adjective
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Judith Lightfoot Clarke and Greg Wood carry themselves with peevish authority as the Butley, oozing entitlement.
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The childishness of his expressions infantilized a genuinely vicious regime, painting it as more peevish than petrifying.
Cite this Entry
“Fretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fretful. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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