as in irritable
tending towards or characterized by agitation or irritability
They finally lulled the fretful baby to sleep. I kept having fretful thoughts about what would happen if we couldn't pay our bills.
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Recent Examples of fretful
Which is neurotically fretful for a chef who prides himself on buying the very best ingredients in the market.
—
John Mariani, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2024
In 2020, Joe did sterling work managing the inheritance of the Trump administration, but for weeks there’s been a fretful question mark over his ability to win reelection.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 22 July 2024
Nothing gave voice to the fretful backlash more than Trump.
—James Morone, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2018
Joe Biden and his presidential campaign continued to try to assuage fretful donors following the president’s dismal performance at the debate on Thursday.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 29 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for fretful 
John Mariani, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2024
In 2020, Joe did sterling work managing the inheritance of the Trump administration, but for weeks there’s been a fretful question mark over his ability to win reelection.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 22 July 2024
Nothing gave voice to the fretful backlash more than Trump.
—James Morone, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2018
Joe Biden and his presidential campaign continued to try to assuage fretful donors following the president’s dismal performance at the debate on Thursday.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 29 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for fretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretful
Adjective
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By the end, Liverpool’s players seemed tired and Klopp was irritable, clearly in need of a rest.—
Simon Hughes,
The Athletic,
20 Jan. 2025
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The trio’s sixth record is charmingly irritable in both of its moods: hopped up on fluffy coffee while cracking baseball jokes, or dragging out downbeats and lamenting power structures to goad listeners with mounting anticipation.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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For example, someone not willing to open up to you about certain aspects of their personal life can be interpreted as personal rejection, which may trigger defensive or anxious behaviors.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
24 Jan. 2025
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More than a few have faced foreclosure, leaving owners anxious about the need to get tenants back in their buildings or find another use for the millions of unused square feet.—
Roger Vincent,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The troubled Metropolitan Detention Center jail in Brooklyn has just two doctors on staff to care for its more than 1,100 inmates, and an opening for a third physician has gone unfilled for nearly a decade.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
19 Jan. 2025
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Listen to this article A new management company at Carlsbad’s Windsor Pointe supportive housing project faces the daunting task of turning around the facility’s troubled reputation.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The climax is a horrendous German burning of a village, as striking for its visual imagery as for its agitated music.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2025
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The inaugural film in The Conjuring franchise understands that seasoned viewers of haunted-house films know what signs to look for by now: cold spots, agitated pets, clocks that stop ticking.—
Gayle Sequeira,
Vulture,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In the meantime, state and city health departments are worried about how the communications pause might affect their communities.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA TODAY,
24 Jan. 2025
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Economic data users like Algernon Austin, director for race and economic justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a left-leaning think tank, are worried about what changes may be coming to the sample size for the Current Population Survey, which produces the monthly employment data.—
Hansi Lo Wang,
NPR,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Some parents are nervous to send their kids back to the center, given the air quality concerns and its proximity to the burn area.—
Kate Sequeira,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Jan. 2025
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Ellie is nervous, and so naturally, her dead lesbian aunt manifests as an unwanted spiritual gay guide.—
Sadie Collins,
Them,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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This is why Mora is most excited, if apprehensive, about exporting this most Colombian of stories to a global audience once more.—
Manuel Betancourt,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Dec. 2024
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Last month, Patti LuPone appeared on The View and seemed more than a little apprehensive about seeing the new Broadway production of Sunset Blvd., the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that LuPone once (and briefly) headed.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The songs are muscular and syncretic as ever, but the normally peevish rapper doesn’t maintain his trolling energy for the full record, settling into a questioning and pensive pace.—
Stephen Kearse,
TIME,
8 Dec. 2024
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For all that, his Arthur remains a lowly outsider, with a downcast gaze, a peevish temper, and a deep well of melancholy that never feels one-note.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near fretful
Cite this Entry
“Fretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fretful. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
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