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
Performance Jones prods the start button and the four-cylinder power plant coughs grumpily into life, then settles to a fretful idle.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 28 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
Performance Jones prods the start button and the four-cylinder power plant coughs grumpily into life, then settles to a fretful idle.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretful
Adjective
-
That’s because the Moon is at odds with Mars today and everyone is irritable.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
7 May 2026
-
What are the symptoms of irritable bowel disease?—
Lindy Segal,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In Louisiana, nearly 180,000 early ballots for House races already cast won’t be counted under the redrawn districts, leaving voters like Sallie Davis anxious their votes won’t be tallied.—
John Hanna,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
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Viral genetics Researchers around the globe are also anxious to get the genomic data of the ANDV virus.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
Adjective
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Scenarios like these are not uncommon in the largely unregulated, vast industry of youth residential programs aimed at helping struggling kids, according to experts and organizations that track issues with the troubled teen industry.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
11 May 2026
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However, Russia’s military presence in Africa was pioneered by the Wagner Group, which operated in troubled nations such as Libya, Mozambique and the Central African Republic (CAR) long before.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
10 May 2026
Adjective
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Reformers were worried that putting more money into the hands of local school districts, without oversight to ensure that it was being spent effectively, would lead to its diversion into administration and more generous union contracts rather than hands-on instruction for kids who needed it most.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
14 May 2026
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Yu said that, as China has strengthened its social safety net, people are less worried about having to rely on others.—
Janis Mackey Frayer,
NBC news,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
According to the outlet, the victim became agitated after taking a significant quantity of drugs.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
7 May 2026
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His knuckles tapped an agitated beat on the steering wheel along to soft jazz playing on the radio.—
‘Pemi Aguda,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
Altman seemed slightly nervous as the cross-examination got underway.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
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Suddenly, and very publicly, Russian officials appeared nervous, afraid that their parade would be spoiled.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
There are even Allure editors who remain apprehensive.—
Tori Crowther,
Allure,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Pressley, a co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus, has for months been making the case to Republicans and some apprehensive Democrats to get them on board, according to a senior aide to the congresswoman.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Judith Lightfoot Clarke and Greg Wood carry themselves with peevish authority as the Butley, oozing entitlement.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
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The childishness of his expressions infantilized a genuinely vicious regime, painting it as more peevish than petrifying.—
Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fretful. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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