EN

Synonyms for pettish

  • adjective

Most common

irritable petulant fractious peevish

All synonyms

Adjective

irritable, petulant, peevish, cross, fractious, testy, fretful, querulous, waspish, splenetic, snappish, cranky, scratchy, techy informal, peckish informal, tetchy UK US IE, nettlesome, sour, moody, hasty, touchy, prickly

Antonyms

imperturbable

All antonyms of pettish →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Bad-tempered; peevish.

Example sentences

  • irritable Tom is usually a little irritable in the morning.
  • petulant Her petulant humor upset the attendees.
  • peevish Tom woke up feeling rather peevish.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
pettishsteady
irritablerising
petulantrising
fractiousrising
peevishrising

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

By length

4 letters
sour2
5 letters
cross1, moody2, hasty2, testy2, techy2
6 letters
cranky2, touchy2, tetchy
7 letters
prickly2, fretful2, peckish, peevish2, waspish
8 letters
scratchy2, petulant3, snappish
9 letters
irritable4, fractious2, querulous3, splenetic
10 letters
nettlesome3

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (sour2 = 2 syllables).