pettish

[pet-ish]

adjective

1. petulantly peevish.

   a pettish refusal.

pettish

/ ˈpɛtɪʃ /

adjective

1. peevish; petulant

   a pettish child

Other Word Forms

• pettishly adverb
• pettishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pettish¹

First recorded in 1585–95; pet ², -ish ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pettish¹

C16: from _pet ²

Example Sentences

The same temptation is evident when Alter defends God’s words after he has allowed all of Job’s children to be murdered as part of what amounts to a pettish bet with the Adversary, Satan.

Read more on The New Yorker

On an international stage, Pence made America look small with his pettish behavior.

Read more on New York Times

Netanyahu’s campaign advertisements, on the other hand, cast the prime minister as the only adult in a collapsing coalition government filled with pettish, quarrelsome kindergarteners — more fodder for “A Wonderful Land.”

Read more on Washington Post

He found her unreasonable, exacting, pettish if thwarted, absolutely unsympathetic, and with a mind incapable of comprehending his.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

Then she dashed her hand across her eyes--though I saw no tears in them--and with a pettish exclamation turned away.

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Related Words

• delicate 
• dicey 
• hypersensitive 
• jumpy 
• precarious 
• risky 
• sensitive 
• testy 
• ticklish 
• tricky 
• uptight 
• volatile