waspish
adjective
like or suggesting a wasp, especially in behavior.
waspish
1 American
[wos-pish]
/ ˈwɒs pɪʃ /
Waspish
2
American
[wos-pish]
/ ˈwɒs pɪʃ /
Or
WASPish
adjective
waspish
British
/ ˈwɒspɪʃ /
adjective
-
relating to or suggestive of a wasp
-
easily annoyed or angered
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of waspish1
First recorded in 1560–70; wasp + -ish 1
Origin of Waspish2
First recorded in 1965–70; WASP + -ish 1
Explanation
If someone is acting irritable or crabby, you can describe them as waspish. Your sister's waspish complaints about dinner aren't likely to convince your dad to order pizza for her instead. This adjective comes from the word wasp and the notion that wasps are spiteful and ill-tempered, stinging petulantly when they feel cranky. If someone calls you waspish, that's what they mean — you're easily irritated. It's less common than it once was (waspish has been used since at least the mid-1500s), but it's still a great way to describe anyone who's quick to express their anger.
Vocabulary lists containing waspish
Julius Caesar
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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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.
See Examples For:
And this was one of the least waspish awards shows in memory, with few jokes at the expense of actors or shows, apart from one about “The Bear” being a comedy without jokes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2024
Among the waspish regulars of the Algonquin Round Table, Robert Benchley cut a relatively docile figure.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2022
She dissects many flavors of contemporary delusion and distraction with consummate precision and yet never comes across as waspish or savage.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2021
The waspish TV pundit paid tribute to the show's makers on Twitter, with the help of one of his Strictly catchphrases.
From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2020
It surprised her how quickly, during reunions with old friends, the subject of marriage came up, a waspish tone in the voices of the unmarried, a smugness in those of the married.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
He replaces the tall, Waspish dean of Ivy League college presidents, John Sloan Dickey, who is retiring after 25 years of transforming Dartmouth.
From Time Magazine Archive
Waspish, 41-year-old Bill Jenner is a small man to use the Senate office chambers once occupied by the late great George W. Norris.
From Time Magazine Archive
Waspish U. S. Army pursuit planes rose to greet it.
From Time Magazine Archive
Waspish Author Peyrefitte writes like a countryman of Rabelais and Voltaire, but in the U.S., where there is no comparable tradition of anticlerical literature, he is likely to shock more than to entertain.
From Time Magazine Archive
For, from this day forth, Ile vse you for my Mirth, yea for my Laughter When you are Waspish Cassi.
From Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
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.
