as in irritability
readiness to show annoyance or impatience
I do not appreciate your petulance and eagerness to argue
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Recent Examples of petulance
But six months on against Liverpool, Paqueta’s petulance is a slap in the face to everyone associated with West Ham.
—
Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
True, its narrative was hard to follow, its dialogue abstruse, but why the petulance?
—Peter Bart, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
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 an obvious display of childish petulance, a significant number of Democratic representatives in Texas abandoned their jobs and responsibilities to the voters by fleeing to Illinois.
—For The Carroll County Times, Baltimore Sun, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petulance
Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
True, its narrative was hard to follow, its dialogue abstruse, but why the petulance?
—Peter Bart, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
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 an obvious display of childish petulance, a significant number of Democratic representatives in Texas abandoned their jobs and responsibilities to the voters by fleeing to Illinois.
—For The Carroll County Times, Baltimore Sun, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petulance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petulance
Noun
-
Postpartum depression, per Mayo Clinic, includes symptoms such as depressed mood, difficulty bonding with your baby, changes in appetite, intense irritability and more.—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
-
The result can appear not only as exhaustion, but also irritability, decreased concentration, emotional numbing, sleep disruption, and heightened anxiety.—
Maia Niguel Hoskin,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
The problem is, when your side lack intensity, aggression and cohesion, those traps are easy to spot and avoid.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
Bass said Pratt’s videos encourage aggression.—
Britta Miller,
The Washington Examiner,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Petulance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petulance. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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