Word of the Day 10.1.08

petulant

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.

Adj.

1.

petulant - easily irritated or annoyed; “an incorrigibly fractious young man”; “not the least nettlesome of his countrymen”

irritable, peevish, pettish, techy, testy, tetchy, scratchy, nettlesome, peckish, cranky, fractious

ill-natured - having an irritable and unpleasant disposition

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

Posted on October 1, 2008 by admin

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