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.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
impatient, sullen, perverse, testy, cranky, fractious, irritable, whiny, bad-tempered, captious, complaining, cross, crybaby, displeased, fault-finding, fretful, grouchy, grumbling, huffy, mean
Nearby words
- petty sessions,
- petty, richard,
- petty-fitzmaurice,
- petulance,
- petulancy,
- petulantly,
- petunia,
- petuntse,
- petworth house,
- petén-itzá
Origin of petulant
1590–1600; < Latin petulant- (stem of petulāns) impudent, akin to petere to seek, head for
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for petulant
petulant
/ (ˈpɛtjʊlənt) /
adjective
irritable, impatient, or sullen in a peevish or capricious way
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
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petulant
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper