petulant
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of petulant
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin petulant- (stem of petulāns ) “impudent,” akin to petere “to seek, head for”
Explanation
Choose the adjective petulant to describe a person or behavior that is irritable in a childish way. The adjective petulant is a disapproving term used to describe a bad-tempered child, an adult behaving like an angry child or behavior of this type. It's one thing to be angry or annoyed but if someone is petulant, they're acting in an unreasonable or unjustified manner. Petulant came to English in the late 16th century from the Latin petulantem, "forward, insolent" but was not recorded to mean "childishly irritable" until the late 1700s.
Vocabulary lists containing petulant
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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List 4
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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.
But it’s also a story about, say, how a creature’s loneliness might make him greedy and petulant, and how sometimes the best solution is to feed someone’s heart as opposed to their impulses.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2026
It’s the same feeling that a petulant toddler has when throwing a tantrum toward its parents.
From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026
The retelling of the first lady’s life recasts her as a petulant former cabaret performer who would rather be on stage than in the White House.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
With actress Julie Christie or supermodel Jean Shrimpton on his arm, he specialised in playing sophisticated villains: including Superman's arch nemesis, General Zod, and the petulant Sergeant Troy in Far From the Madding Crowd.
From BBC • Aug. 17, 2025
What about my petulant and much-pampered lower back?
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Definitions 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.
