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

Murray says her own experience has made her more understanding when female colleagues seem more tired or irritable than usual, particularly when the behavior is out of character.

— Jo Ann Liguori, Flow Space, 21 Oct. 2026
Could be because for much of the running time, Abrams’ Jay Gardiner is up against what looks like a very large irritable sphincter.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of irritable

Adjective

Meyers' thinking is that as the odds go up of a Democratic party win, investors are getting more nervous about parts of the artificial intelligence trade.

— Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
Later on, after the guests have left, this cheating convention makes Kaylee nervous.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of nervous

Adjective

Maybe that sounds counterintuitive to folks worried about how the Bears are going to supply their roster with high-end talent in the next couple of years, and there will be a host of needs on defense alone.

— Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
Delawalla adds that many voters may also be worried about public health, particularly given the ongoing measles crisis and the summer’s cyclosporiasis outbreak.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of worried

Adjective

His arrival will force Violette to confront hidden truths of her troubled past filled with hidden truths.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2026
But when their increasingly dangerous scheme becomes a plan to escape their troubled families, the stakes spiral beyond their control.

— Marta Balaga, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of troubled

Adjective

Following the restless night, the animals’ sleep windows lengthened while their total REM-like time jumped from roughly nine minutes to seventeen.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Nov. 2026
Netflix’s org chart might be in crisis, and its subscribers are growing increasingly restless about the awful cadence of content worth caring about.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of restless

Adjective

The Lilliputians are as small-minded as their size and conduct querulous, violent debates about which end of an egg to crack (so obviously similar to the theological complexities of Swift’s own day).

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
The American right, too, is in a shifting, querulous state.

— Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026