as in restless
given to complaining a lot
car trips that were frequently spoiled by a couple of querulous passengers in the back
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Recent Examples of querulous
The most salutary change was Kelsey, who turned from Rigoletto to Amonasro, and who gave his trademark smoky tone and aura of threat to a role that, earlier in the month, George Gagnidze had rendered merely tight and querulous.
—
Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2023
Brian Frutiger’s edgy tenor perfectly suits the querulous Dr. Caius.
—Dallas News, 2 Aug. 2022
One came across as a quiet, reserved, eloquent, thoughtful force of nature; the other as a boisterous, querulous, troublemaking and sometimes thoughtless and mean force of nature.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2022
Today those late, querulous paintings are counted among the most influential American artworks of the twentieth century.
—Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 14 Jan. 2021
See All Example Sentences for querulous
Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2023
Brian Frutiger’s edgy tenor perfectly suits the querulous Dr. Caius.
—Dallas News, 2 Aug. 2022
One came across as a quiet, reserved, eloquent, thoughtful force of nature; the other as a boisterous, querulous, troublemaking and sometimes thoughtless and mean force of nature.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2022
Today those late, querulous paintings are counted among the most influential American artworks of the twentieth century.
—Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 14 Jan. 2021
See All Example Sentences for querulous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for querulous
Adjective
-
The company’s movement language—restless, precise, elastic—has built a home for stories that were long told elsewhere, or not at all.—
Skylar Mitchell,
Essence,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Their deeper role is to host inquietud—the restless desire to know more, to question assumptions, to look for connections across disciplines and geographies.—
Javier Garcia del Moral
September 26,
Literary Hub,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
However, such symptoms are hard to attribute to vaccines because infants can be irritable or fussy regardless of vaccination.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC news,
19 Sep. 2025
-
When the caffeine wears off, children may have a headache and feel irritable or tired.—
Dr. Mark Corkins,
Boston Herald,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Twenty-six years after Home Improvement wrapped, the actress joined her former cast mates Richard Karn and Patricia Richardson in a scene in which Allen's grumpy protagonist Matt Parker begrudgingly attends a grief support group frequented by Charlotte (Nancy Travis).—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Mika takes a job teaching three young witches, and getting to know a grumpy and overprotective librarian, Jamie, who is also in charge of their care.—
Audrey Goldberg Ruoff,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Barnes is displeased with how the events have ultimately unfolded.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
-
The green-and-gold faithful were again displeased as UTSA took over in Rams territory.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Townsend will play Norm Stinson, an excellent (and grouchy) veteran basketball coach who knows how to get the best out of his teams, but not always how to communicate.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
25 Sep. 2025
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Leading up to kickoff of Belichick’s debut at Chapel Hill, college football, this community and certainly the TV networks were thrilled with the prospect of this grouchy old man turning an irrelevant football team into something worth watching.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Now, Darvish will get to pitch in front of a stadium of screaming, hopeful, nervous Cubs fans.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
If presidents are stars on the stage of world history, vice presidents are nervous understudies hidden away behind the scenes.—
Book Marks
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Many female officers were dissatisfied with the arrangement.—
Isadora Wandermurem,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Among a roster of great supporting performances, the standout is Yeom Hye-ran as a dissatisfied wife whose path crosses with Man-soo repeatedly and with audacious results.—
Vulture Staff,
Vulture,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Leah stayed crabby through dinner.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
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Attend the Fiddler Crab Festival Every February over Presidents’ Day weekend, the three-day Fiddler Crab Festival brings crabby fun and community pride to Steinhatchee.—
Skye Sherman,
Southern Living,
5 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Querulous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/querulous. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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