as in irritability
readiness to show annoyance or impatience
I do not appreciate your petulance and eagerness to argue
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of petulance
The synths sound terrible now, and the petulance is creeping in, which does him no favors.
—
Christopher Bonanos, Vulture, 18 July 2025
For all his bombast online, for instance, Marcus has said that today’s chatbots are a legitimate breakthrough, just far from the breakthrough; for all of Altman’s petulance, OpenAI’s latest large reasoning models rely on new approaches not so dissimilar from Marcus’s own, decades-old ideas.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 8 July 2025
That’s not true, of course, just like Trump’s claims about the media were just thin cover for his petulance.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 27 June 2025
While Jean Seberg once imbued Cécile with girlish petulance, McInerny gives the role an electric charge of ambivalence.
—Natalia Winkelman, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for petulance
Christopher Bonanos, Vulture, 18 July 2025
For all his bombast online, for instance, Marcus has said that today’s chatbots are a legitimate breakthrough, just far from the breakthrough; for all of Altman’s petulance, OpenAI’s latest large reasoning models rely on new approaches not so dissimilar from Marcus’s own, decades-old ideas.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 8 July 2025
That’s not true, of course, just like Trump’s claims about the media were just thin cover for his petulance.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 27 June 2025
While Jean Seberg once imbued Cécile with girlish petulance, McInerny gives the role an electric charge of ambivalence.
—Natalia Winkelman, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for petulance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petulance
Noun
-
For example, a few kids experience increased hyperactivity or irritability in the first couple of weeks, but that typically subsides within a month.—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Be prepared for temporary withdrawal effects like irritability and anxiety.—
Sarah Bradley,
Health,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Wall Street holds near record highs in a government-data blackout , with enough rotational energy toward left-behind groups, refreshed confidence in the AI spending frenzy, certainty of a Fed rate cut this month and speculative aggression in lower-quality longshots to keep the indexes aloft.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
3 Oct. 2025
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The President's aggression is forcing every school district, city, and the state to do more to protect our rights and our students.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Petulance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petulance. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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