querulous

[kwer-uh-luhs, kwer-yuh-]

adjective

1. full of complaints; complaining.

   Synonyms: discontented, carping, testy, petulant
   Antonyms: contented

2. characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish.

   a querulous tone; constant querulous reminders of things to be done.

   Synonyms: discontented, carping, testy, petulant

querulous

/ ˈkwɛrʊləs, ˈkwɛrjʊ- /

adjective

1. inclined to make whining or peevish complaints

2. characterized by or proceeding from a complaining fretful attitude or disposition

   a querulous tone

Other Word Forms

• querulously adverb
• querulousness noun
• unquerulous adjective
• unquerulously adverb
• unquerulousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of querulous¹

1490–1500; < Latin querulus, equivalent to quer ( ī ) to complain + -ulus -ulous

Word History and Origins

Origin of querulous¹

C15: from Latin querulus from querī to complain

Example Sentences

Against a long and attenuated trill of the viola, Mehretu’s backgrounds become a lurid green or mysterious blue and the black lines of the paintings start to look more querulous.

From New York Times

The British novelist Hilary Mantel, who died on Thursday at age 70, left a wide-ranging and hard-to-classify body of work that encompassed memoir, story collections, contemporary novels and brilliant, querulous literary essays.

From New York Times

Snarky and sometimes rude, the verse drama tells of a querulous prince stepping anxiously into the spotlight.

From New York Times

One came across as a quiet, reserved, eloquent, thoughtful force of nature; the other as a boisterous, querulous, troublemaking and sometimes thoughtless and mean force of nature.

From Los Angeles Times

But were senior party figures to try this, Mr. Johnson might threaten to call a snap general election, preferring his chances of winning a contest among voters to one among his querulous lawmakers.

From New York Times