EN

Synonyms for nettlesome

  • adjective

Most common

cranky irritable scratchy petulant annoying teasing

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Cranky

cranky, irritable, scratchy, petulant, testy, fractious, techy informal, peckish informal, peevish, tetchy UK US IE, pettish informal

2. Annoying

annoying, teasing, irritating, pesky informal, bothersome, vexing, galling, vexatious, pestiferous, plaguy

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Causing irritation, annoyance, or discomfort; bothersome, irksome.

    My old car is very nettlesome.

  2. adj. 2

    Thorny; difficult to deal with, especially due to being complex or tricky.

    Be careful what you say to him; he's a nettlesome fellow.

Example sentences

  • cranky Tom is going to be very cranky if Mary does that.
  • irritable Tom is usually a little irritable in the morning.
  • scratchy My throat feels dry and raw and scratchy.
  • petulant Her petulant humor upset the attendees.
  • annoying When one is sick, visitors can be rather annoying.
  • teasing If you keep teasing him, he’ll lose his patience.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
nettlesomerising
crankyrising
irritablerising
scratchyrising
petulantrising
annoyingrising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

5 letters
pesky2, testy2, techy2
6 letters
cranky2, vexing2, tetchy, plaguy
7 letters
teasing2, galling2, peckish, peevish2, pettish
8 letters
annoying3, scratchy2, petulant3
9 letters
irritable4, fractious2, vexatious3
10 letters
irritating4, bothersome3
11 letters
pestiferous

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (pesky2 = 2 syllables).