petulant
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of petulant
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin petulant- (stem of petulāns ) “impudent,” akin to petere “to seek, head for”
Explanation
Choose the adjective petulant to describe a person or behavior that is irritable in a childish way. The adjective petulant is a disapproving term used to describe a bad-tempered child, an adult behaving like an angry child or behavior of this type. It's one thing to be angry or annoyed but if someone is petulant, they're acting in an unreasonable or unjustified manner. Petulant came to English in the late 16th century from the Latin petulantem, "forward, insolent" but was not recorded to mean "childishly irritable" until the late 1700s.
Vocabulary lists containing petulant
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s the same feeling that a petulant toddler has when throwing a tantrum toward its parents.
From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026
Freddie isn’t merely the petulant brat of the first Broadway production, but suffering from bipolar disorder.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
“While our improper payments will go up, and fraudsters may compromise identities, no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child.”
From Salon • Sep. 9, 2025
The boxers squabbled like petulant schoolchildren at a news conference in February, with Eubank holding court, taking aim at everyone in his eyeline, including Benn and Hearn.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2025
When he came back at times like this he would be petulant and penitent.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
