petulant
[ pech-uh-luhnt ]
/ ˈpɛtʃ ə lənt /
adjective
moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance: a petulant toss of the head.
QUIZZES
WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM
Think you know your presidents? Take this quiz and see if you can match the style, wit, and ideology of these memorable lines to the right POTUS.
Question 1 of 9
“I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
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, adverbWords 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
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, adverbWord 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