querulous
Americanadjective
-
full of complaints; complaining.
- Synonyms:
- discontented, carping, testy, petulant
- Antonyms:
- contented
-
characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish.
a querulous tone; constant querulous reminders of things to be done.
- Synonyms:
- discontented, carping, testy, petulant
adjective
-
inclined to make whining or peevish complaints
-
characterized by or proceeding from a complaining fretful attitude or disposition
a querulous tone
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of querulous
1490–1500; < Latin querulus, equivalent to quer ( ī ) to complain + -ulus -ulous
Explanation
Querulous means “having a tendency to complain” or, more directly put, “whiny.” Sure, no one can be happy all the time, but that’s no excuse for being querulous. Querulous may remind you of the word query, which means “question.” However, the two words are not closely related. It’s perfectly reasonable to make a query; just don’t be querulous if you don’t like the answer you get. Querulous does share its origins with the word quarrel, which means “argument” — and that’s what’s likely to happen if you complain too much.
Vocabulary lists containing querulous
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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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.
Edward, a World War I veteran, is a querulous man who’s canceled all seasonal festivities at his home.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
Brave Orchid is querulous and in her way indomitable, but she will not draw her grievances on her Biggest Daughter’s back and send her forth to conquer California.
From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2021
The version she released was much more ambitious, her dramatic vocal performance propelled by querulous strings and surging synths.
From BBC • Dec. 20, 2019
A secret service agent went to her rescue but she waved at him, a querulous sort of rebuke, attempting to recover herself.
From The Guardian • Sep. 22, 2019
Mr. Jaggers was querulous and angry with me for having “let it slip through my fingers,” and said we must memorialise by and by, and try at all events for some of it.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
