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
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
Surf camp instructors noted that authorities have said the waters in Santa Monica Bay and elsewhere are safe, but some parents remain fretful.
—Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 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
Suddenly the Toronto crowd’s sound turned from festive to fretful.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Chris Lehmann, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Surf camp instructors noted that authorities have said the waters in Santa Monica Bay and elsewhere are safe, but some parents remain fretful.
—Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 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
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
-
On the contrary, Juventus’ football soothed even the most irritable sections of the crowd.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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This can include feeling irritable, having a low frustration tolerance, feeling easily overstimulated, and having rapid shifts in emotion.—
Korin Miller,
SELF,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Flat, calm but earnest, mildly anxious, blunted, volatile.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Times of Troy survey After an anxious few weeks for Trojan fans, USC finally has its next defensive coordinator.—
Ryan Kartje,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Instead, the 35-year-old is shifting gears by turning her troubled past into a new trade.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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An English boarding school for troubled boys is the backdrop of this quiet yet accomplished début novel, set in 1976.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This is a relief for now, but the market won’t stop being worried about memory hurting gross margins until prices come down.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Kids were scared, parents were worried, and the shocking crime instantly became a high-profile case, meaning, of course, that there was high pressure to convict.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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They easily could have been mistaken for agitated sports fans, and their actions were small and diffuse enough that they could be quickly dispersed.—
Davood Moradian,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
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Stewart conjures Lidia’s complex inner life with agitated images and a bold editing scheme that flashes back and ahead.—
Jillian Steinhauer,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
While the money is flowing, state officials are still nervous.—
Miquéla V Thornton,
Bloomberg,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The atmosphere at the Emirates was nervous, too, and their next two opponents — Leeds (away) and Sunderland (home) — will give no quarter.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Staff morale improves, waiting rooms feel friendlier, and even the most apprehensive new patients are easier to engage.—
Henry I. Miller,
STAT,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Oklahoma providers and patients are apprehensive about WISeR's payment model and how the program could impact access to care for the nation’s growing aging population.—
Jillian Taylor,
StateImpact,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
While grunge seemed peevish, grim, defeatist, and dour—and extended the kind of us-vs.-them culture most famously centered by the indie rock of the ’80s and ’90s, Oasis was celebratory, communal, and democratic while exploring themes of alienation, escape, and fantasies of triumph.—
Corey Seymour,
Vogue,
28 July 2025
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Thousands of people — displaced by disaster, their past lives gone up in smoke — are hostage to the whims of a peevish president who always puts his feelings first and cares nothing for the greater good.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
22 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fretful. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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