perverseness

noun

Definition of perversenessnext
as in irritability
readiness to show annoyance or impatience the kind of perverseness that makes you want to snap at anyone who makes the mistake of greeting you

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for perverseness
  1. irritability
  2. perversity
  3. aggression
Noun
  • Heart attacks and strokes occur disproportionately following rejections, and rejected individuals often show symptoms that are typically associated with drug withdrawal, including anxiety, depression, crying, loss of appetite, and irritability.
    — George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026
  • By day, apnea shows up as the kind of sleepiness coffee cannot fix, morning headaches, trouble concentrating and short-fuse irritability.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of irritability
Noun
  • Its practice of permitting construction projects at the same time in adjoining areas, causing the most inconvenience to vehicular traffic, wins the award for most perversity.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The movie is essentially an old-fashioned story of one lad’s sentimental education, spiced up with NSFW perversity.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2026
Definition of perversity
Noun
  • These can range from infidelity and intimidation to aggression and extreme violence.
    — David DeMatteo, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • On the other hand, Washington cannot allow Chinese aggression against its neighbors.
    — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of aggression
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

perverse
perverseness
perversion
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Perverseness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perverseness. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of disparate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

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

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All