petulant
[pech-uh-luh nt]
- moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance: a petulant toss of the head.
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Origin of petulant
1590–1600; < Latin petulant- (stem of petulāns) impudent, akin to petere to seek, head for
Synonyms
See more synonyms for petulant on Thesaurus.comirritable, peevish, fretful, pettish, touchy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for petulant
Contemporary Examples
The slimy, childish, petulant Viserys starts off as a symbol of everything about Targaryen rule Westeros has rejected.
Petulant billionaires singlehandedly funded rivals to Mitt Romney.
They seem, in fact, like cranky, petulant children, coked to the gills.
But alas, we learn that Rose is only courting the black man to make her mother angry, because she is a petulant teen.
‘Downton Abbey’ Finale Review: The Depressing Demise of a Once-Great ShowKevin Fallon
February 24, 2014
Homeland fans made ranting about the awfulness of petulant teen Dana Brody into a weekly celebratory ritual.
Historical Examples
"I sha'n't tell you," came the petulant retort from the girl.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
She shrugged her shoulders with a petulant pessimism her youth made amusing.
Quaint CourtshipsVarious
Are you mistress of the petulant, the peevish, and the sullen tone?
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
For the first time, too, there was a petulant vein in his attitude toward me.
In the ValleyHarold Frederic
Smiled, and made him ashamed of his petulant gift there, before them.
PoemsWilliam D. Howells
petulant
- irritable, impatient, or sullen in a peevish or capricious way
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Word Origin
C16: via Old French from Latin petulāns bold, from petulāre (unattested) to attack playfully, from petere to assail
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for petulant
adj.
1590s, "immodest, wanton, saucy," from Middle French petulant (mid-14c.), from Latin petulantem (nominative petulans) "wanton, froward, saucy, insolent," present participle of petere "to attack, assail; strive after; ask for, beg, beseech" (see petition (n.)). Meaning "peevish, irritable" first recorded 1775, probably by influence of pet (n.2). Related: Petulantly.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper