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-temperedAnnoyed and irritable.
biliousSpiteful; bad-tempered.
His bilious temperament.
bitterFeeling or showing anger, hurt, or resentment because of bad experiences or a sense of unjust treatment.
Shed bitter tears.
cantankerousBad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.
He can be a cantankerous old fossil at times.
cholericCharacterized by anger.
A choleric disposition.
churlishRude in a mean-spirited and surly way.
Churlish as a bear.
complainingExpressing dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.
She apologized to the complaining crowd.
crabbed(of style) contorted and difficult to understand.
Crabbed legal language.
crabbyIrritable.
He was crabby at having his siesta interrupted.
crankyInclined to heel over easily under sail.
He was cranky after eight hours of working.
crossExtending or lying across in a crosswise direction at right angles to the long axis.
He seemed to be very cross about something.
crotchetyIrritable.
He was tired and crotchety.
crusty(especially of an old person) easily irritated.
A crusty old man.
curmudgeonlyBrusque and surly and forbidding.
His curmudgeonly temper.
disagreeableNot to your liking.
A disagreeable situation.
dyspepticSuffering from dyspepsia.
edgyTense, nervous, or irritable.
He became edgy and defensive.
fractious(typically of children) irritable and quarrelsome.
They fight and squabble like fractious children.
fretfulNervous and unable to relax.
The baby was crying with a fretful whimper.
grumpyAnnoyed and irritable.
His performance as the grumpy gateman.
huffyAnnoyed or irritated and quick to take offence at petty things.
The old ladies made a huffy pretence of being uninterested.
ill-humouredBrusque and surly and forbidding.
ill-naturedHaving an irritable and unpleasant disposition.
ill-temperedAnnoyed and irritable.
impatientRestlessly eager.
Impatient of criticism.
in a bad moodDirected or bound inward.
irritableCapable of responding to stimuli.
She was tired and irritable.
liverishUnhappy and bad-tempered.
A liverish red.
miserableDeserving or inciting pity- Galsworthy.
Horribly wet and miserable conditions.
moodyShowing a brooding ill humor.
Grainy film which gives a soft moody effect.
moroseShowing a brooding ill humor.
She was morose and silent when she got home.
nettlesomeCausing annoyance or difficulty.
Not the least nettlesome of his countrymen.
out of sortsNot allowed to continue to bat or run.
out of temperNo longer fashionable.
peckishEasily irritated or annoyed.
I hadn t eaten and was quite peckish.
peevishEasily 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.
pricklyResembling prickles.
Prickly velvet seats.
scratchyBad-tempered or irritable.
She was a little abrupt and scratchy.
sourShowing a brooding ill humor- Bruce Bli.
She sampled the wine and found it was sour.
spleneticVery irritable.
A splenetic rant.
sulkySullen or moody.
Disappointment was making her sulky.
sullenShowing a brooding ill humor.
A sullen crowd.
surlyBad-tempered and unfriendly.
The porter left with a surly expression.
techyEasily irritated or annoyed.
testyEasily irritated; impatient and somewhat bad-tempered.
His testy disapproving father.
tetchyIrritable 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.
waspishVery 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)

aggravateMake worse.
Military action would only aggravate the situation.
angerFill someone with anger provoke anger in.
Venting his anger had calmed him a little.
annoyCause annoyance in disturb especially by minor irritations.
The decision really annoyed him.
annoyedAroused to impatience or anger.
I got very annoyed watching the film.
badBadly.
Bad news.
cantankerousHaving a difficult and contrary disposition.
A cantankerous and venomous tongued old lady.
complainingExpressing dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.
A complaining boss.
crankyBad-tempered; irritable.
After a juddering landing the cranky plane eased up the runway.
crookedHaving or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned.
A dress with a crooked hemline.
curmudgeonA crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas.
defuseMake (a situation) less tense or dangerous.
Explosives specialists tried to defuse the grenade.
delicateA delicate fabric or garment.
Delicate negotiations.
fearfulLacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted- P.B.Shelley.
He was in a fearful hurry.
fractiousEasily irritated or annoyed.
An incorrigibly fractious young man.
fretProvide a musical instrument with frets.
Fret a guitar.
fretfulHabitually complaining.
The baby was crying with a fretful whimper.
harassmentA feeling of intense annoyance caused by being tormented.
They face daily harassment and assault on the streets.
inconvenientNot conveniently timed.
She telephoned frequently usually at inconvenient times.
irritable(of a body part) abnormally sensitive.
She was tired and irritable.
irritatedShowing or feeling slight anger; annoyed.
The irritated look on Alec s face.
peevishHaving or showing an irritable disposition.
A thin peevish voice.
querulousComplaining in a rather petulant or whining manner.
She became querulous and demanding.
tenseCause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious.
Tense piano strings.
testyEasily irritated or annoyed.
His testy disapproving father.
tickleTouch 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.
uncomfortableCausing or feeling slight pain or physical discomfort.
An uncomfortable way of surprising me just when I felt surest.
uneasyCausing 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.

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