FRETFUL Synonyms: 210 Similar and Opposite Words

fretful

adjective

Definition of fretful

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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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of fretful The quintessential late-’80s teen, Ryder here plays a fretful mom. — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2025 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 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

As the fascination with Ernetti grows into something unhealthy, Béatrice subtly grows more tired, more distracted, more irritable and desperate for answers, small changes Sellier conveys with a smart sense of restraint.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026
The product immediately calmed down my irritable, rosacea-prone skin while delivering intense hydration that lasted all day.

— Gina Vaynshteyn, StyleCaster, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of irritable

Adjective

That feels very much in tune with the anxious characters Eisenberg has played over the course of his acting career, but this whole directing thing is working out nicely for him, too.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026
Nelson remembers hushing her foster children back to sleep that night and calling 911, anxious for an end to those sleepless nights.

— Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of anxious

Adjective

People were understandably very nervous about being on camera, letting a camera into the room.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Vinny, short for Vincent van Gogh, gets nervous and prefers shorter, quieter walks, and Macaroni, named after Fleetwood Mac, makes the stroller a tight squeeze for two cats.

— Emily Tarinelli, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of nervous

Adjective

Trump’s approval ratings, however, are at an all-time low, and the party is worried about MAGA voters not turning out in large numbers.

— Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 10 Sep. 2026
There’s a generational gap in the concerns, with people increasingly worried about younger generations and entry-level jobs getting eaten by AI.

— Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of worried

Adjective

The public reckonings with these figures’ legacies—the troubled former child star gone too soon, the beloved icon, the cult favorite, the complicated eccentric—have come in a cascade.

— Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
In the last decade Germany has sheltered millions of refugees, mainly from Syria and other troubled countries in the Middle East.

— Erik Kirschbaum, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026