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petulant

[ pech-uh-luhnt ]
/ ˈpɛtʃ ə lənt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR petulant

adjective

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

OTHER WORDS FROM petulant

pet·u·lant·ly, adverbun·pet·u·lant, adjectiveun·pet·u·lant·ly, adverb

Words nearby petulant

petty larceny, petty officer, petty sessions, petulance, petulancy, petulant, petunia, petuntse, Petworth House, peu à peu, peu de chose
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to petulant

impatient, sullen, perverse, testy, cranky, fractious, irritable, whiny, bad-tempered, captious, complaining, cross, crybaby, displeased, fault-finding, fretful, grouchy, grumbling, huffy, mean

Example sentences from the Web for petulant

British Dictionary definitions for petulant

petulant
/ (ˈpɛtjʊlənt) /

adjective

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

Derived forms of petulant

petulance or petulancy, nounpetulantly, adverb

Word Origin for petulant

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