as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
a petulant and fussy man who is always blaming everyone else for his problems
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Recent Examples of petulant
Russell Crowe, 'Gladiator’ (2001) Crowe's Roman warrior Maximus, a general banished to slavery thanks to a petulant young emperor (Joaquin Phoenix) who rises back to glory, is a throwback to old-school Hollywood action heroes that still works.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026
Unfortunately, instead of chastising their petulant colleagues, nearly every other Democratic politician has decided to join them in thrashing about on the floor.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 19 Feb. 2026
This petulant man, who wields awesome power, also has the nuclear codes.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
What Laxe has orchestrated is not a simplistic clash of cultures but a collective upending of fortunes in which the rulings of fate, or of Allah, prove too cruel and too permanent to trigger a petulant blame game.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petulant
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026
Unfortunately, instead of chastising their petulant colleagues, nearly every other Democratic politician has decided to join them in thrashing about on the floor.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 19 Feb. 2026
This petulant man, who wields awesome power, also has the nuclear codes.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
What Laxe has orchestrated is not a simplistic clash of cultures but a collective upending of fortunes in which the rulings of fate, or of Allah, prove too cruel and too permanent to trigger a petulant blame game.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petulant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petulant
Adjective
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From the dramatic adolescent to the unpredictable PMS-ing woman to the irritable menopausal crone, unattractive stereotypes of women ruled by their hormones abound.—
Patricia Bencivenga,
STAT,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Caroly is immediately affected, glued to the TV; John, suddenly irritable, retreats.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
One social media video taken from along a highway near the barracks showed the aftermath of the strike, with pieces of fiery debris scattered along the mountain range housing the barracks.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
2 Apr. 2026
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One person is dead after a fiery crash involving a tree in New Canaan on Tuesday night.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Petulant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petulant. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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