peeved; peeving
1
: a feeling or mood of resentment
2
: a particular grievance or source of aggravation
Synonyms
Examples of peeve in a Sentence
Verb
she is constantly peeved by his habit of humming show tunes while she is trying to focus on her work
Noun
One of her peeves is people who are always late.
my main peeve with the animal welfare organization is the endless stream of unsolicited trinkets in my mailbox
Recent Examples on the Web
USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2024
Banks are particularly peeved by a proposal for guarding against risks posed by mortgage lending.
—Emily Flitter, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2024
Both argue safety shouldn’t stand in the way of releasing new technologies, but Altman didn’t go out of his way to peeve the ESG crowd.
—Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2023
Advertisement How the Giants play baseball would peeve a purist.
—Jorge Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2023
Though Ramsay was peeved, Barfield escaped elimination, as Ryan was sent home.
—oregonlive, 2 Aug. 2023
Astros players, though, were granted immunity during the probe — a decision that peeved players and fans alike when MLB’s report and discipline were issued in January 2020.
—Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2023
There were a lot of Titanic fans peeved that Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t nominated.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2023
In a press conference, after the Mobile County Health Department shut down bars and dine-in restaurant service, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson was peeved.
—Kyle Whitmire, al, 30 Apr. 2020
Alina Selyukh, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024
That said, this seems like more of a personal peeve than a professional problem, which is fine.
—Roxane Gay, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2023
Yes,Gran Turismo does stupid movie things like, my personal peeve, constantly have the drivers glare at each other through the side window.
—Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 11 Aug. 2023
That lack of flexibility in cannabis-consumption devices has long been one of my pet pot peeves, and Ooka is far from the first company (and undoubtedly won’t be the last) to take this approach.
—Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2023
This foundation also passed our transfer test without issue, so your clothing will remain safe from stray makeup stains (a peeve of ours!).
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 13 June 2023
Manske: Your food pet-peeve?
—Laura Manske, Forbes, 12 June 2022
His pet spending peeve: dining out or ordering in.
—Adam Shell, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2020
Kyle says his biggest pet-peeve is someone who has a negative attitude.
—Milan Polk, Men's Health, 10 Feb. 2022
Verb
Trump’s comment about Haley’s husband peeved Randhawa, an army veteran who posted a string of X posts and reshares over the weekend blasting his sister’s opponent.
—USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2024
Banks are particularly peeved by a proposal for guarding against risks posed by mortgage lending.
—Emily Flitter, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2024
Both argue safety shouldn’t stand in the way of releasing new technologies, but Altman didn’t go out of his way to peeve the ESG crowd.
—Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2023
Advertisement How the Giants play baseball would peeve a purist.
—Jorge Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2023
Though Ramsay was peeved, Barfield escaped elimination, as Ryan was sent home.
—oregonlive, 2 Aug. 2023
Astros players, though, were granted immunity during the probe — a decision that peeved players and fans alike when MLB’s report and discipline were issued in January 2020.
—Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2023
There were a lot of Titanic fans peeved that Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t nominated.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2023
In a press conference, after the Mobile County Health Department shut down bars and dine-in restaurant service, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson was peeved.
—Kyle Whitmire, al, 30 Apr. 2020
Noun
During his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden reached for one of his top recent peeves: shrinkflation.
—Alina Selyukh, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024
That said, this seems like more of a personal peeve than a professional problem, which is fine.
—Roxane Gay, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2023
Yes,Gran Turismo does stupid movie things like, my personal peeve, constantly have the drivers glare at each other through the side window.
—Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 11 Aug. 2023
That lack of flexibility in cannabis-consumption devices has long been one of my pet pot peeves, and Ooka is far from the first company (and undoubtedly won’t be the last) to take this approach.
—Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2023
This foundation also passed our transfer test without issue, so your clothing will remain safe from stray makeup stains (a peeve of ours!).
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 13 June 2023
Manske: Your food pet-peeve?
—Laura Manske, Forbes, 12 June 2022
His pet spending peeve: dining out or ordering in.
—Adam Shell, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2020
Kyle says his biggest pet-peeve is someone who has a negative attitude.
—Milan Polk, Men's Health, 10 Feb. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'peeve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Peeve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peeve. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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