EN

Synonyms for peckish

  • adjective

Most common

cranky irritable testy peevish hungry

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Tetchy — irritable; crotchety

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

2. Snacky — mildly hungry

snacky informal, snackish informal

Other

hungry

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    mildly hungry

    After that run, I'm feeling a bit peckish.

  2. adj. 2

    irritable; crotchety

Example sentences

  • cranky Tom is going to be very cranky if Mary does that.
  • irritable Tom is usually a little irritable in the morning.
  • testy He gets really testy when he doesn't get his way.
  • peevish Tom woke up feeling rather peevish.
  • hungry The hungry birds were eating from the bird feeder.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
peckishrising
crankyrising
irritablerising
testyrising
peevishrising
hungryrising

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

By length

5 letters
testy2, techy2
6 letters
hungry2, cranky2, tetchy, snacky
7 letters
peevish2, pettish
8 letters
scratchy2, petulant3, snackish
9 letters
irritable4, fractious2
10 letters
nettlesome3

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (testy2 = 2 syllables).