Synonyms of petulance

petulance

noun

ˈpe-chə-lən(t)s 

as in irritability

readiness to show annoyance or impatience

I do not appreciate your petulance and eagerness to argue

Synonyms & Similar Words

• irritability
• irritableness
• aggression
• anger
• indignation
• peevishness
• aggressiveness
• irascibility
• exasperation
• testiness
• hostility
• crankiness
• crossness
• grumpiness
• grouchiness
• perversity
• sensitivity
• perverseness
• huffiness
• biliousness
• rage
• wrath
• choler
• fury
• rudeness
• sulkiness
• pettishness
• belligerence
• surliness
• waspishness
• crotchetiness
• fretfulness
• pugnacity
• combativeness
• orneriness
• truculence
• disagreeableness
• cantankerousness
• bellicosity
• pugnaciousness
• feistiness
• irascibleness
• contentiousness
• contrariness
• querulousness
• belligerency
• fight
• dyspepsia
• animosity
• touchiness
• crustiness
• curmudgeonliness
• fussiness
• antagonism
• passion
• rancor
• fierceness
• scrappiness
• antipathy
• truculency
• jaundice
• supersensitivity
• quarrelsomeness
• unfriendliness
• spleen
• disputatiousness
• oversensitiveness
• hot-bloodedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• tolerance
• understanding
• forbearance
• patience
• long-suffering
• affability
• geniality
• cordiality
• friendliness
• sociability
• agreeableness
• amicability
• amiability
• amiableness
• amenity
• coolness
• serenity
• gentleness
• good-naturedness
• tranquility
• mildness
• kindliness
• good-humoredness
• good-temperedness
• easygoingness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of petulance

So there’s a feeling of vindictiveness and petulance that’s in there, but there’s also a practicality to it, too. — Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2025

In fact, Mount’s petulance was a way to distract the referee from Fernandes’s antics and take a late yellow card on his captain’s behalf. — Carl Anka, New York Times, 26 May 2026

Refund claims will certainly be made and sustained in the courts, so all the president’s petulance will accomplish is to cause delay and increase the government’s obligation to pay interest due on the refunds. — Tom Campbell, Oc Register, 22 Feb. 2026

Sure, the Oscar-winning makeup helps transform the actor into Cheney, but the voice and petulance are all Bale, whose conjuring of this scoundrel ought to trigger PTSD for anyone who survived the Dubya years. — Tim Grierson, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2026