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
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
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The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
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Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
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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The city is recommending zoning regulations that fall in line with state statute while trying to calm residents who are worried data centers will overwhelm resources like water and energy and impose on their quality of life.
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Hollywood insider Rob Shuter is reporting that guests to the wedding are worried about the itinerary and the scale of the celebration.
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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At Clis boutique in Melrose Park, owner Jeimmy Espina is nervous and overwhelmed by the number of dead and injured in her home country.
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Apple head honchos are nervous about cybersecurity – and one reason might be a recent supply chain attack on supplier Tata, the largest Indian company of its kind to ink a partnership with the front-running American smartphone company.
Adjective
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The report comes with Federal Reserve policymakers expressing mixed feelings about the economy – mostly positive on growth though apprehensive on inflation as earlier fears about weakness in the labor market have eased.
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Testa was apprehensive at first.
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 3 Jul. 2026.
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