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
Now, for many in the business world, that question feels almost passé, part of an earlier, more fretful era of narratives.
—
Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretful
Adjective
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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
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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
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This productivity decline stems from several factors: Workplace morale deteriorates Remaining employees absorb additional responsibilities Teams become anxious about future job security When employees question whether their leaders truly value them, their enthusiasm and dedication suffer.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
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Nobel laureates, such as MIT’s Daron Acemoglu, are worried about its capacity to worsen income inequalities, and ordinary American workers are anxious about AI’s impact on jobs.—
Bhaskar Chakravorti,
Harvard Business Review,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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Devil’s Play follows Iva (Ivanova), a troubled teenager trapped between an abusive stepfather (Stretch) and a distant, deaf mother (Tenekedjieva).—
The Deadline Team,
Deadline,
18 May 2025
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This was not an isolated incident: since its troubled 2019 launch, AP Classroom has been plagued by glitches, confusing user interfaces, and reliability issues.—
Scott White,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2025
Adjective
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Symptoms of anxiety include feeling restless, irritable, agitated or on edge; getting tired easily; and having muscle tension or trouble concentrating or sleeping.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 May 2025
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Read the full Gemini Daily Horoscope Cancer (June 22 - July 22) Emotionally agitated?—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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Elsewhere in the episode, Torre reported that Belichick’s family members are among those who are worried about his relationship with Hudson, which was first made public last June.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
13 May 2025
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Nearly two-thirds (63%) are worried about global warming and 37% are not.—
Robert G. Eccles,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
Adjective
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A little nervous at first, Harry does well calling the boat in.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
13 May 2025
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The Trump administration became increasingly nervous at the prospect of a major war erupting in one of the most populous places on the planet.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2025
Adjective
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However, those apprehensive about near-term volatility should contemplate suitable strategies, such as the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio strategy, featuring a selection of 30 stocks, that has a history of comfortably outperforming the S&P 500 over the previous four-year span.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
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Tammy, 38, was apprehensive about her younger sister's quick engagement.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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Rojas’s recollections weren’t peevish—fine work was produced under these conditions.—
Ian Parker,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
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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 24 May. 2025.
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