Hypertext Webster Gateway: "petulant"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Petulant \Pet"u*lant\, a. [L. petulans, -antis, prop., making
slight attacks upon, from a lost dim. of petere to fall upon,
to attack: cf. F. p['e]tulant. See {Petition}.]
1. Forward; pert; insolent; wanton. [Obs.] --Burton.
2. Capriciously fretful; characterized by ill-natured
freakishness; irritable. ``Petulant moods.'' --Macaulay.
Syn: Irritable; ill-humored; peevish; cross; fretful;
querulous.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
petulant
adj : easily irritated or annoyed; "an incorrigibly fractious
young man"; "not the least nettlesome of his
countrymen" [syn: {cranky}, {fractious}, {irritable}, {nettlesome},
{peevish}, {peckish}, {pettish}, {testy}, {tetchy}, {techy}]
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