PETULANT: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for PETULANT?

Need another word that means the same as “petulant”? Find 50 synonyms and 30 related words for “petulant” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Petulant” are: cranky, fractious, irritable, nettlesome, peckish, peevish, pettish, scratchy, techy, testy, tetchy, complaining, touchy, waspish, prickly, crusty, peppery, fretful, cross, crabbed, crabby, crotchety, cantankerous, curmudgeonly, disagreeable, miserable, morose, edgy, impatient, bitter, moody, in a bad mood, grumpy, huffy, out of sorts, out of temper, ill-tempered, bad-tempered, ill-natured, ill-humoured, sullen, surly, sulky, sour, churlish, bilious, liverish, dyspeptic, splenetic, choleric

Petulant as an Adjective

Definitions of "Petulant" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “petulant” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• (of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered.
• Easily irritated or annoyed.

Synonyms of "Petulant" as an adjective (50 Words)

bad-tempered	Annoyed and irritable.
bilious	Spiteful; bad-tempered. His bilious temperament.
bitter	Feeling or showing anger, hurt, or resentment because of bad experiences or a sense of unjust treatment. Shed bitter tears.
cantankerous	Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative. He can be a cantankerous old fossil at times.
choleric	Characterized by anger. A choleric disposition.
churlish	Rude in a mean-spirited and surly way. Churlish as a bear.
complaining	Expressing dissatisfaction or annoyance about something. She apologized to the complaining crowd.
crabbed	(of style) contorted and difficult to understand. Crabbed legal language.
crabby	Irritable. He was crabby at having his siesta interrupted.
cranky	Inclined to heel over easily under sail. He was cranky after eight hours of working.
cross	Extending or lying across in a crosswise direction at right angles to the long axis. He seemed to be very cross about something.
crotchety	Irritable. He was tired and crotchety.
crusty	(especially of an old person) easily irritated. A crusty old man.
curmudgeonly	Brusque and surly and forbidding. His curmudgeonly temper.
disagreeable	Not to your liking. A disagreeable situation.
dyspeptic	Suffering from dyspepsia.
edgy	Tense, nervous, or irritable. He became edgy and defensive.
fractious	(typically of children) irritable and quarrelsome. They fight and squabble like fractious children.
fretful	Nervous and unable to relax. The baby was crying with a fretful whimper.
grumpy	Annoyed and irritable. His performance as the grumpy gateman.
huffy	Annoyed or irritated and quick to take offence at petty things. The old ladies made a huffy pretence of being uninterested.
ill-humoured	Brusque and surly and forbidding.
ill-natured	Having an irritable and unpleasant disposition.
ill-tempered	Annoyed and irritable.
impatient	Restlessly eager. Impatient of criticism.
in a bad mood	Directed or bound inward.
irritable	Capable of responding to stimuli. She was tired and irritable.
liverish	Unhappy and bad-tempered. A liverish red.
miserable	Deserving or inciting pity- Galsworthy. Horribly wet and miserable conditions.
moody	Showing a brooding ill humor. Grainy film which gives a soft moody effect.
morose	Showing a brooding ill humor. She was morose and silent when she got home.
nettlesome	Causing annoyance or difficulty. Not the least nettlesome of his countrymen.
out of sorts	Not allowed to continue to bat or run.
out of temper	No longer fashionable.
peckish	Easily irritated or annoyed. I hadn t eaten and was quite peckish.
peevish	Easily irritated or annoyed. A thin peevish voice.
peppery	(of a person) irritable and sharp-tongued. Nasturtiums have a peppery taste.
pettish	(of a person or their behaviour) childishly bad-tempered and petulant. He comes across in his journal entries as spoiled and pettish.
prickly	Resembling prickles. Prickly velvet seats.
scratchy	Bad-tempered or irritable. She was a little abrupt and scratchy.
sour	Showing a brooding ill humor- Bruce Bli. She sampled the wine and found it was sour.
splenetic	Very irritable. A splenetic rant.
sulky	Sullen or moody. Disappointment was making her sulky.
sullen	Showing a brooding ill humor. A sullen crowd.
surly	Bad-tempered and unfriendly. The porter left with a surly expression.
techy	Easily irritated or annoyed.
testy	Easily irritated; impatient and somewhat bad-tempered. His testy disapproving father.
tetchy	Irritable and bad-tempered. She had always been tetchy and impatient with him.
touchy	(of an issue or situation) requiring careful handling; delicate. A touchy subject.
waspish	Very irritable. Witty and waspish about his colleagues.

Usage Examples of "Petulant" as an adjective

• He was moody and petulant.
• A petulant shake of the head.

Associations of "Petulant" (30 Words)

aggravate	Make worse. Military action would only aggravate the situation.
anger	Fill someone with anger provoke anger in. Venting his anger had calmed him a little.
annoy	Cause annoyance in disturb especially by minor irritations. The decision really annoyed him.
annoyed	Aroused to impatience or anger. I got very annoyed watching the film.
bad	Badly. Bad news.
cantankerous	Having a difficult and contrary disposition. A cantankerous and venomous tongued old lady.
complaining	Expressing dissatisfaction or annoyance about something. A complaining boss.
cranky	Bad-tempered; irritable. After a juddering landing the cranky plane eased up the runway.
crooked	Having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned. A dress with a crooked hemline.
curmudgeon	A crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas.
defuse	Make (a situation) less tense or dangerous. Explosives specialists tried to defuse the grenade.
delicate	A delicate fabric or garment. Delicate negotiations.
fearful	Lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted- P.B.Shelley. He was in a fearful hurry.
fractious	Easily irritated or annoyed. An incorrigibly fractious young man.
fret	Provide a musical instrument with frets. Fret a guitar.
fretful	Habitually complaining. The baby was crying with a fretful whimper.
harassment	A feeling of intense annoyance caused by being tormented. They face daily harassment and assault on the streets.
inconvenient	Not conveniently timed. She telephoned frequently usually at inconvenient times.
irritable	(of a body part) abnormally sensitive. She was tired and irritable.
irritated	Showing or feeling slight anger; annoyed. The irritated look on Alec s face.
peevish	Having or showing an irritable disposition. A thin peevish voice.
querulous	Complaining in a rather petulant or whining manner. She became querulous and demanding.
tense	Cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious. Tense piano strings.
testy	Easily irritated or annoyed. His testy disapproving father.
tickle	Touch or stroke lightly. I had a tickle between my shoulder blades.
ticklish	(of a situation or problem) difficult or tricky and requiring careful handling. They re rather ticklish on the subject.
touchy	(of an issue or situation) requiring careful handling; delicate. A touchy subject.
uncomfortable	Causing or feeling slight pain or physical discomfort. An uncomfortable way of surprising me just when I felt surest.
uneasy	Causing or feeling anxiety; troubled or uncomfortable. She lived in a state of uneasy truce with her strict father.
vicious	(of an animal) wild and dangerous to people. A vicious assault.