relating to or suggestive of a wasp
easily annoyed or angered
First recorded in 1560–70; wasp + -ish 1
First recorded in 1965–70; WASP + -ish 1
If someone is acting irritable or crabby, you can describe them as waspish. Your sister's waspish complaints about dinner aren't likely to convince your dad to order pizza for her instead. This adjective comes from the word wasp and the notion that wasps are spiteful and ill-tempered, stinging petulantly when they feel cranky. If someone calls you waspish, that's what they mean — you're easily irritated. It's less common than it once was (waspish has been used since at least the mid-1500s), but it's still a great way to describe anyone who's quick to express their anger.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And this was one of the least waspish awards shows in memory, with few jokes at the expense of actors or shows, apart from one about “The Bear” being a comedy without jokes.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2024
She dissects many flavors of contemporary delusion and distraction with consummate precision and yet never comes across as waspish or savage.
From Slate • Jul. 13, 2021
The waspish TV pundit paid tribute to the show's makers on Twitter, with the help of one of his Strictly catchphrases.
From BBC • Dec. 24, 2020
This time, I watched it for Sigourney Weaver’s Katharine, a WASPy, waspish mergers-and-acquisitions whiz, eventually deserted by Harrison Ford’s executive for Melanie Griffith’s tremulous secretary, Tess.
From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2020
Snape prowled through the fumes, making waspish remarks about the Gryffindors’ work while the Slytherins sniggered appreciatively.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
