Word of the Day

petulance

pet·u·lant  (pch-lnt)

adj.

1. Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish.
2. Contemptuous in speech or behavior.




[Latin petulns, petulant-, insolent, from petere, to assail; see pet- in Indo-European roots.]




petu·lance, petu·lan·cy n.
petu·lant·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Noun 1. petulance - an irritable petulant feeling        

ill humorill humourdistemper - an angry and disagreeable mood
testinesstetchinesstouchiness - feeling easily irritated
pet - a fit of petulance or sulkiness (especially at what is felt to be a slight)

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on March 26, 2009 by admin

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