fretful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fretful
Explanation
Someone who's fretful can't relax. You might be fretful — upset and fidgety — if you're waiting to hear whether or not you've been accepted into a competitive summer music program. You may be fretful because you're worried about a friend, you're waiting for news, you're incredibly irritated with your little brother, or simply because you're an anxious and restless person. The word at the heart of fretful is fret, a verb meaning "worry" which is rooted in the Old English fretan, "to eat or devour." From this, fret grew to mean "being eaten away by worry."
Vocabulary lists containing fretful
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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"Sorry, Wrong Number" by Lucille Fletcher
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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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.
But there is no doubting this is a fretful moment, adversaries and conflicts around the world, deep seated problems at home.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025
Kounalakis would very much like to be California’s next governor, and her fretful appearance in the 30-second spot is very much a part of her strategy to make that happen in November 2026.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2024
Although the series treats Blauner as a fretful schlemiel in early episodes — almost the moment we meet him, we hear about his hemorrhoids — he’s allowed to be a man of action later on.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2024
Communication failures ensue, as do the progressively more fretful faces and soundtrack music.
From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2024
The woman was lost in a fretful sleep.
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
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.
