adjective
-
fretful or irritable
a peevish child
-
obsolete perverse
Synonym Usage
See cross.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of peevish
1350–1400; Middle English pevysh of unknown origin
Explanation
When you're peevish, you're easily irritated and grumpy. Everything seems to get under your skin. Know someone who always seems annoyed, grumpy, cranky, or irritated? That person is peevish. Some people are peevish in general, but most people can be peevish about certain subjects — we all have a pet peeve. Lots of people get peevish about language: like using the word like all the time as verbal filler. Being peevish is almost always considered a form of pettiness — it's not a good thing. When you're peevish, you're not really looking at the big picture.
Vocabulary lists containing peevish
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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Even More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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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.
When Berry was faced with criticism, he could be peevish, as in the essay “Foreign Relations: A Dispatch From Rural America.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
On my recent rereading of “The Secret Garden,” I was delighted by the moment when Mary, initially pale and peevish and uninterested in her breakfast, begins wandering the grounds with a jump rope in hand.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Like the peevish alien Roger from American Dad, Sam’s general attitude toward the human world in which he finds himself is equal parts incomprehension and condescension.
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2023
It can be viewed today on YouTube; I challenge anyone, no matter how grumbly or peevish, to watch it without laughing out loud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2022
You’re expecting me to do what?” snapped a peevish voice from the other side of the heavy wooden door.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
