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
Cunha reacted with a petulant bout of foot-stamping and flailing of arms in response to not receiving a cutback to the edge of the box.
—
Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Scott’s Tom Ripley was a clean break from that of Matt Damon; instead of a petulant pretty boy seized by envy and lust, this Ripley was older (Scott is in his late forties) and scarier, a lonesome manipulator with a murderous gleam in his eye.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Instead we got stuck with a petulant child (who has grown up since then).
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
The male characters are, typically, petulant narcissists with perpetual sneers who insult and cajole their female love interests into almost invariably unhealthy relationships.
—Josh Bell, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for petulant 
Steve Madeley, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Scott’s Tom Ripley was a clean break from that of Matt Damon; instead of a petulant pretty boy seized by envy and lust, this Ripley was older (Scott is in his late forties) and scarier, a lonesome manipulator with a murderous gleam in his eye.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Instead we got stuck with a petulant child (who has grown up since then).
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
The male characters are, typically, petulant narcissists with perpetual sneers who insult and cajole their female love interests into almost invariably unhealthy relationships.
—Josh Bell, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for petulant
Thesaurus Entries Near petulant
Cite this Entry
“Petulant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petulant. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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