petulant

[pech-uh-luhnt]

adjective

1. moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance.

   a petulant toss of the head.

   Synonyms: touchy, pettish, fretful, peevish, irritable

petulant

/ ˈpɛtjʊlənt /

adjective

1. irritable, impatient, or sullen in a peevish or capricious way

Other Word Forms

• petulantly adverb
• unpetulant adjective
• petulance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of petulant¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin petulant- (stem of petulāns ) “impudent,” akin to petere “to seek, head for”

Word History and Origins

Origin of petulant¹

C16: via Old French from Latin petulāns bold, from petulāre (unattested) to attack playfully, from petere to assail

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Freddie isn’t merely the petulant brat of the first Broadway production, but suffering from bipolar disorder.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, the petulant Jesus starts feeling his powers and is suddenly called a savior by some, a malevolent sorcerer by others.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The fact that the president’s approval rating has been on the decline as he’s increasingly become a petulant sandbox bully isn’t actually incongruous.

Read more on Salon

Nixon may have been paranoid but at least he didn’t sound like a petulant teenager.

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Related Words

• cranky 
• fractious 
• impatient 
• irritable 
• perverse 
• sullen 
• testy 
• whiny