petulance

American  

[pech-uh-luhns] / ˈpɛtʃ ə ləns /

noun

1. the state or quality of being petulant.

2. a petulant speech or action.

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Etymology

Origin of petulance

First recorded in 1600–10, petulance is from the Latin word petulantia impudence. See petulant, -ance

Explanation

Petulance is whininess and irritability. Your least favorite thing about the kids you babysit might be their petulance. The noun petulance is the quality of being fretful, complaining, petty, or generally cranky. It's not a pleasant characteristic — it's almost always described negatively, like when you talk about the childishness and petulance of your constantly whining boss or the petulance of a hotel guest who complains about the pillows being too fluffy. Petulance comes from the Latin petulantia, which means insolence or immodesty.

Example Sentences

Alan Wolfe, a distinguished professor emeritus at Boston College and prolific scholar of American political thought, gives us “The Politics of Petulance: America in an Age of Immaturity.”

From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2018

Petulance, intransigence, arrogance; basically, he was found guilty of being Steve Jobs.

From Inc • Oct. 5, 2011

Petulance and temper were not in her character, and she was annoyed to see any touch of them in her lover.

From The Master-Christian by Corelli, Marie

Petulance and querulousness too often supplanted the mental elasticity, which had counted for naught the roughnesses on the road to fame.

From The Life of Nelson, Volume 1 The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain by Mahan, A. T. (Alfred Thayer)

For all Mankind, unknown, his Bosom heaves; He only injures those, with whom he lives, Read then the Man;—does Truth his Actions guide, Exempt from Petulance, exempt from Pride?

From Benjamin Franklin; Self-Revealed, Volume I (of 2) A Biographical and Critical Study Based Mainly on his own Writings by Bruce, Wiliam Cabell