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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fretful
As Queenie, navigating empty relationships and professional disappointments on a journey from self-sabotage to self-worth, Brown makes a whole person from a variety of attitudes — hopeful, hopeless, hungover, exuberant, fretful, thoughtful.
—
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2024
Too many young people are anxious, fretful and socially isolated.
—Sarah Lent, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
Her father, a renowned music educator as well as a composer and conductor, was a conspicuous voice urging fretful Americans not to dismiss the music but to listen to what the songs had to say.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
There’s naïve Jill (Nicola Turner and then, in adulthood, Helena Wilson), excitable Ruby (Sophia Ally and Ophelia Lovibond), and fretful Gloria (Nancy Allsop and Leanne Best); and then—played by Lara McDonnell as a teen and by Donnelly in a pointed piece of double-casting as an adult—there’s Joan.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2024
Too many young people are anxious, fretful and socially isolated.
—Sarah Lent, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
Her father, a renowned music educator as well as a composer and conductor, was a conspicuous voice urging fretful Americans not to dismiss the music but to listen to what the songs had to say.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
There’s naïve Jill (Nicola Turner and then, in adulthood, Helena Wilson), excitable Ruby (Sophia Ally and Ophelia Lovibond), and fretful Gloria (Nancy Allsop and Leanne Best); and then—played by Lara McDonnell as a teen and by Donnelly in a pointed piece of double-casting as an adult—there’s Joan.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretful
Adjective
-
It is believed to reduce pain and inflammation, and has been used for treatment of back pain, high blood pressure, arthritis, migraines, and irritable bowel disease.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
4 Apr. 2025
-
And even in what was a stilted match played in an increasingly irritable atmosphere, Rogers and Tielemans delivered with an assist each.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Another reason people put off going to bed is to avoid feeling anxious or restless, said James Rowley, MD, a sleep medicine expert at Rush University Medical Center and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.—
Maggie O'Neill,
Verywell Health,
30 Apr. 2025
-
Professionally, Xavier is anxious about future tax exposure from his deferred compensation.—
Brian Lasher,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Proposals for Combating Polarization and Extremism By Larry Diamond, Edward B. Foley, and Richard H. Pildes The Primary Solution: Rescuing Our Democracy From the Fringes By Nick Troiano Two new books explore the deeply troubled election system in the United States.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Meanwhile, some at City Hall have heard rumblings about major cuts to the planning department, which processes development applications and updates zoning plans, as well as the troubled Animal Services Department.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In his words Burden was hoping to be a first-round pick and grew agitated when he was still not selected by the conclusion of Thursday night’s proceedings.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2025
-
At one point, Scott, who is sweating profusely, appears agitated and uneasy as five officers stand near him telling him to either enter the ambulance or he will be detained by police.—
Tesfaye Negussie,
ABC News,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Investors had also been worried about the fallout from sweeping U.S. tariffs that are prompting businesses to rein in spending.—
Deborah Sophia and Aditya Soni,
USA Today,
1 May 2025
-
My client is worried about losing benefits, which is not a reason to worry.—
Diane Omdahl,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
Adjective
-
Dellow was nervous about rush hour traffic, but the Uber dropped Nikishin off at 6:45 p.m. at the airport.—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
-
Your younger colleague is nervous about each conversation.—
Jay Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Ernst & Young found that 71% of U.S. employees are apprehensive about AI, with 48% expressing more concern now than a year ago and 41% believing that AI is evolving too quickly.—
Ryan Farsai,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
-
President Donald Trump’s U-turn on the Ukraine war – and his diplomatic embrace of Russia, the country that started it – has left American allies in Europe apprehensive about the future.—
Ned Temko,
The Christian Science Monitor,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Rojas’s recollections weren’t peevish—fine work was produced under these conditions.—
Ian Parker,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
-
The songs are muscular and syncretic as ever, but the normally peevish rapper doesn’t maintain his trolling energy for the full record, settling into a questioning and pensive pace.—
Stephen Kearse,
TIME,
8 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Fretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fretful. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share