Showing results for "peeved"

• past tense form of peeve.
• past participle of peeve.

peeved

American  

[peevd] / pivd /

adjective

1. annoyed; irritated; vexed.

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Other Word Forms

• peevedness
  noun
• peevedly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of peeved

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10; peeve + -ed ²

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Explanation

When you're peeved, you're extremely annoyed or irritated. If you eat the donut that your sister was saving for later, she's going to be so peeved! The adjective peeved comes from an older one, peevish, which originally meant "silly," and later came to mean "cross or fretful." You've probably heard of "pet peeves," those particular annoyances that drive you crazy? Peeved is how you feel when faced with such annoyances, like tiny rocks in your shoe as you walk to school, terrible music in a restaurant, or a bad referee call against your favorite basketball team.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

peeved

Mr. Harris highlights the Brooklyn-born comedian’s legendary propensity to walk off stage if an audience’s response peeved him.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

One former official recalls a departing prime minister being peeved there was an "office spruce-up", with walls being freshly painted for their replacement about to arrive.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Apple’s AI missteps, including a botched rollout of a smarter version of the Siri voice assistant, peeved investors last year.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

The Martha Stewart Living founder, who appears peeved occasionally throughout the documentary, told Fallon she didn’t enjoy the process of making the film.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2024

Opal kept busy with the names, unless the miller was present, and when Archie needed feeding she seemed quite peeved to have to stop.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

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