peeve 1 of 2

peeve

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word peeve different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of peeve are exasperate, irritate, nettle, provoke, and rile. While all these words mean "to excite a feeling of anger or annoyance," peeve suggests arousing fretful often petty or querulous irritation.

a toddler peeved at being refused a cookie

In what contexts can exasperate take the place of peeve?

In some situations, the words exasperate and peeve are roughly equivalent. However, exasperate suggests galling annoyance and the arousing of extreme impatience.

his exasperating habit of putting off needed decisions

When can irritate be used instead of peeve?

Although the words irritate and peeve have much in common, irritate implies an often gradual arousing of angry feelings that may range from mere impatience to rage.

constant nagging that irritated me greatly

When might nettle be a better fit than peeve?

The words nettle and peeve can be used in similar contexts, but nettle suggests a sharp but passing annoyance or stinging.

your pompous attitude nettled several people

When would provoke be a good substitute for peeve?

While the synonyms provoke and peeve are close in meaning, provoke implies an arousing of strong annoyance that may excite to action.

remarks made solely to provoke her

When is it sensible to use rile instead of peeve?

The synonyms rile and peeve are sometimes interchangeable, but rile implies inducing an angry or resentful agitation.

the new work schedules riled the employees

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of peeve
Noun
Trump’s taunts and global peeves aired during a stream-of-consciousness news conference included criticism of President Biden for ordering an offshore oil drilling ban along most U.S. coastlines two weeks before his successor’s Inauguration. Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025 It’s further reported that according to an unnamed OpenAI executive — which really peeves CEOs — that the new large language model is 100 times more powerful than GPT-4 and is likely to be combined with other LLMs such as 01, which launched in September. Tor Constantino, Mba, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
When Walker hit a homer before Wyatt, the older brother was peeved. Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 15 June 2025 Miami Springs is not the only entity peeved at the pending sale. Theo Karantsalis, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for peeve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peeve
Noun
  • In a recent study by Climate Rights International, workers spoke of experiencing excessive sweating, headaches, fever, nausea, heat palpitations, dehydration and temporary vision loss.
    Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Soldiers reported headaches and nausea, leading Congress to cut funding in 2022.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel Hamnet imagined the relationship between the Bard and his spouse as an intimate tale of lust, compromise, joy, resentment, support, and sorrow.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Her plaintive denials on screen are robbed of any credibility by an inescapable sense of overwhelming resentment.
    Daniel Jonah Wolpert, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Comments about my fast walk annoy me.
    Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Keanu, still annoyed from the veto ceremony, talked to Ava Pearl in the HOH room and called Rachel a liar.
    David Wysong, Cincinnati Enquirer, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Couples who respect yellow lights tend to build trust, because hesitation is treated as valuable input, not as a nuisance.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • In this era of college athletics what was once a nuisance and an annoyance — college classes — now often appear to not even be a part of the equation.
    Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Their offense mounted a game-winning drive on the road despite losing George Kittle (hamstring) and receiver Jauan Jennings (shoulder).
    Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • From that point Miami’s offense became pass-centric, running the ball three times the rest of the snaps Tagovailoa was on the field, before getting replaced by Zach Wilson in Miami’s final possession.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Fort Worth bed bugs The B-plot of Episode 7 has Peggy setting up a Little Free Library in her front yard in an effort to build community.
    Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
  • His not winning it was considered a failure, and that bugged him.
    Brody Miller, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Primus has expressed skepticism about rail mergers and would likely have been a thorn in the side of this rail merger.
    Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The Angels pulled out a 4-3 victory as Jo Adell remained a thorn in the Royals’ side.
    Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Kemp looked at the ceiling and blew a huff of air when Schwartz announced the sentence.
    Dave Smith, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2025
  • Getty Images To date, the post has amassed more than 900 comments from TikTok viewers, many of them poking fun at the golden retriever mother's annoyed expression and shallow huffs.
    Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Peeve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peeve. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on peeve

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!