Synonyms for petulant
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Peevish — childishly irritable
peevish, irascible, irritable, testy, ill-tempered, querulous, fractious, cranky, fretful, huffy informal, bad-tempered, sullen, choleric, grumpy, short-tempered, perverse, tetchy UK US IE, cantankerous, grouchy, surly, ill-natured, crotchety
2. Flippant — forward; pert; insolent; wanton
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Childishly irritable.
Lack of sleep is causing Dave's recent petulant behavior.
- adj. 2
Forward; pert; insolent; wanton.
Related words
- Word family
- petulantly
Choose the right word
The petulant person frets, but may comply; the perverse individual may be smooth or silent, but is wilfully intractable.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- irritable Tom is usually a little irritable in the morning.
- testy He gets really testy when he doesn't get his way.
- irascible He has an impetuous and irascible personality.
- peevish Tom woke up feeling rather peevish.
By length
- 5 letters
- surly2, testy2, huffy2
- 6 letters
- grumpy2, cranky2, brazen2, sullen2, tetchy
- 7 letters
- grouchy2, fretful2, peevish2, huffish
- 8 letters
- perverse2, flippant2, choleric3
- 9 letters
- irritable4, irascible4, fractious2, crotchety3, querulous3
- 11 letters
- impertinent4
- 12 letters
- cantankerous4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (surly2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- pétulant