petulant
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- petulance noun
- petulantly adverb
- unpetulant adjective
Etymology
Origin of petulant
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin petulant- (stem of petulāns ) “impudent,” akin to petere “to seek, head for”
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.
It’s a Cantonese phrase that in its most innocuous use means naughty or petulant.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
Freddie isn’t merely the petulant brat of the first Broadway production, but suffering from bipolar disorder.
Nixon may have been paranoid but at least he didn’t sound like a petulant teenager.
From Salon
“While our improper payments will go up, and fraudsters may compromise identities, no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child.”
From Salon
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.
