peevish Hear it!

peevish Definition

pee·vish (pē′vis̸h)

adjective

  1. hard to please; irritable; fretful; cross
  2. showing ill humor or impatience, as a glance or remark

Etymology: ME pevische < ?

peevish Related Forms
pee′·vishly adverb pee′·vish·ness noun
peevish Synonyms

peevish

modif.

  1. Having a sour disposition

    perverse, pertinacious, morose; see obstinate.

  2. Inclined to complain

    querulous, complaining, growling; see irritable.

  3. In bad humor

    cross, fretful, fretting; see angry.

peevish Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • voice: Sometimes there are peevish voices in the craft world demanding respect from the contemporary art world.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Member for North-East Hertfordshire experienced halfway through his speech, when he became peevish about proportional representation.
peevish Quotes

His temper, naturally morose, has become licentiously peevish.Crossed in his Cabinet, he insults the House of Lords and plagues the most eminent of his colleagues with the crabbed malice of a maundering witch.

—Disraeli, Benjamin, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield

Browse dictionary entries near peevish

  1. ‹ peeved
  2. ‹ peeve
  3. ‹ peetweet
  4. ‹ peerless
  5. ‹ peeress
  6. ‹ peerage
  7. ‹ Peer-to-Peer
  8. ‹ peer-reviewed
  9. ‹ peer group
  10. ‹ peer
  1. peewee ›
  2. peewit ›
  3. peg ›
  4. peg leg ›
  5. peg top ›
  6. Pegasus ›
  7. pegboard ›
  8. Peggy ›
  9. pegmatite ›
  10. peh ›