1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

peeving 1 of 2

adjective

as in annoying
causing annoyance a peeving insistence that everyone drop their work just to help him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

peeving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of peeve
as in irritating
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts she is constantly peeved by his habit of humming show tunes while she is trying to focus on her work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for peeving
  1. annoying
  2. irritating
  3. frustrating
  4. bothering
  5. disturbing
  6. bugging
  7. persecuting
  8. aggravating
Adjective
  • Ready to go to South America and see some capybaras annoying tweens?
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
  • In May, Cloobeck was arrested and charged with three counts of attempting to dissuade a witness from testifying and one count of harassment for making annoying phone calls, according to a criminal complaint.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of annoying
Verb
  • The textured surface made whisking things like custard or béchamel irritating as the whisk repeatedly snagged on the textured surface.
    — Wilder Davies, Bon Appetit Magazine, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Customers no longer receive generic, irritating blasts, instead experiencing highly contextual, proactive and genuinely helpful brand interactions that adapt to their real-time needs.
    — Pratik Bhadra, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of irritating
Adjective
  • For general appreciators, the series’ excesses and redundancies are likely to be frustrating, as are its frequent lack of focus and general sense of over-sanitization.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Indeed, Infiniti’s wide-eyed portrait of a prodigy is equal parts inspired and frustrating.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of frustrating
Verb
  • Lane Kiffin will stroll off the LSU bus later this afternoon, acting as if none of the noise is bothering him.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The injury was something that had been bothering Smith throughout training camp, but the decision to get surgery wasn’t made until recently.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of bothering
Adjective
  • More than a month after Perez Hilton appeared in a disturbing livestream appearing to engage in acts of self-harm at this Miami-area home, his family is addressing the rumor mill.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
  • As tensions rise and boundaries begin to blur, their grandmother’s frail presence takes on an increasingly disturbing quality, turning a once-idyllic summer into a haunting passage into adulthood.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of disturbing
Verb
  • However, in-flight cabin etiquette is only one part of what’s bugging travelers this summer.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The necessity of the trip at all is what's been bugging me.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 12 June 2026
Definition of bugging
Verb
  • Biden weaponized Law Enforcement against his political opponent, while also persecuting many other innocent people.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 11 June 2026
  • Jack Hayford, the founder of the King’s University, in Texas, claimed that the film was persecuting Christians, who only wanted to be treated equally.
    — Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026
Definition of persecuting
Verb
  • First baseman Freddie Freeman was out of the lineup Monday managing right knee soreness, and second baseman Miguel Rojas was playing through shoulder soreness after aggravating a longstanding partial tear in a labrum.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The shutdown, which could last for weeks – the extent of the damage is not yet clear – is aggravating an already tough situation for the global oil market.
    — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of aggravating
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.

Browse Nearby Words

peeves
peeving
peevish
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Peeving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peeving. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All