What is another word for petulant?

Pronunciation: [pˈɛtjʊlənt] (IPA)

Petulant is a word used to describe someone who is childishly sulky or bad-tempered. Synonyms for petulant include irritable, testy, fractious, crabby, peevish, grumpy, grouchy, short-tempered, moody, and ill-tempered. All of these words convey a sense of annoyance or irritability, often without a clear reason or justification. It is common for petulant people to display mood swings that can range from mild irritability to outbursts of anger. The use of synonyms can make your writing more engaging and help you to avoid repetition. When describing someone who is petulant, consider using one of these synonyms to help convey the desired tone of your writing.

Synonyms for Petulant:

What are the hypernyms for Petulant?

A hypernym is a word with a broad meaning that encompasses more specific words called hyponyms.

What are the opposite words for petulant?

Petulant means easily irritated or annoyed, and it is often used to describe a person's behavior. Some antonyms for petulant include patient, calm, composed, serene, and tolerant. These words suggest a more level-headed and even-tempered disposition. Patient implies the ability to endure delays or adversity without becoming frustrated, while calm reflects a tranquil state of mind. Composed connotes a cool and collected demeanor, whereas serene suggests a peaceful and untroubled state of being. Finally, tolerant indicates a willingness to accept the behavior of others without getting annoyed or upset. By understanding these antonyms for petulant, one can cultivate a more positive and serene approach to dealing with challenges and stressors in daily life.

Usage examples for Petulant

Arenta's voice, petulant and not pleasant, broke the charm.
"The Maid of Maiden Lane"
Amelia E. Barr
Sometimes, if I must confess the truth, I found myself getting quite childishly petulant about her.
"The Debit Account"
Oliver Onions
His sister, who was like most women in being petulant as to trifles but mild about the things that matter, had submitted from being Ruth Brettesley to become mere Ruth Brett.
"Helena Brett's Career"
Desmond Coke

Famous quotes with Petulant

  • The faces of most American women over thirty are relief maps of petulant and bewildered unhappiness.
    F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • At that moment I railed against a God who could condemn such an innocent soul to Purgatory. What had Sedenko done that was not the result of his upbringing or his religion, which encouraged him to kill in the name of Christ? It came to me that perhaps God had become senile, that He had lost His memory and no longer remembered the purpose of placing Man on Earth. He had become petulant, He had become whimsical. He retained His power over us, but could no longer be appealed to. And where was His Son, who had been sent to redeem us? Was God’s Plan not so much mysterious as impossible for us to accept: because it was a malevolent one?
    Michael Moorcock
  • By Jesus’s time the Law of Moses, originally established for the government of a semi-barbarous nation of herdsmen and hill-farmers, resembled a petulant great-grandfather who tries to govern a family business from his sick-bed in the chimney-corner, unaware of the changes that have taken place in the world since he was able to get about: his authority must not be questioned, yet his orders, since no longer relevant, must be reinterpreted in another sense, if the business is not to go bankrupt. When the old man says, for instance: “It is time for the women to grind their lapfuls of millet in the querns,” this is taken to mean: “It is time to send the sacks of wheat to the water-mill.”
    Robert Graves
  • My dad has hated me for as long as I can remember. That's a pretty sweeping statement, and I know how phony it sounds. It sounds petulant and really fantastic, the kind of weapon kids always use when the old man won't come across with the car for your heavy date at the drive-in with Peggy Sue or when he tells you that if you flunk world history the second time through he's going to beat the living hell out of you. In this day and age when everybody thinks psychology is God's gift to the poor old anally fixated human race and even the president of the United States pops a trank before dinner, it's really a good way to get rid of those Old Testament guilts that keep creeping up our throats like the aftertaste of a bad meal we overate. If you say your father hated you as a kid, you can go out and flash the neighborhood, commit rape, or burn down the Knights of Pythias bingo parlor and still cop a plea... But it also means that no one will believe you if it's true. You're the little boy who cried wolf. And for me it's true...I don't think Dad himself really knew it until then. Even if you could dig to the very bottom of his motives, he'd probably say - at the most - that he was hating me for my own good.
    Stephen King

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