petulant

From Middle French, from Latin petulāns, akin to petere.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛt͡ʃʊlənt/, /ˈpɛtjʊlənt/, /ˈpɛt͡ʃələnt/, /ˈpɛtjələnt/

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petulant (comparative more petulant, superlative most petulant)

1. Childishly irritable.

   Synonyms: bad-tempered, crabby, grouchy, huffy; see also Thesaurus:irritable

   Antonym: easygoing

   Lack of sleep is causing Dave's recent petulant behavior.

   • 1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 61:

     But when your praying has troubled the silence long it may be that some god as he strolls in Pegāna’s glades may come on one of our lost prayers, that flutters like a butterfly tossed in storm when all its wings are broken; then if the gods be merciful they may ease our fears in Sidith, or else they may crush us, being petulant gods, and so we shall see trouble in Sidith no longer, with its pestilence and dearth and fears of war.

   • December 13 2021, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time Magazine‎:

     Former associates have described Musk as petty, cruel and petulant, particularly when frustrated or challenged.

2. (obsolete) Forward; pert; insolent; wanton.

   Synonyms: brazen, flippant, impertinent; see also Thesaurus:cheeky

   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:

     Who hath not like cause to complain, and is not so troubled, that shall fall into the mouths of such men? for many are of so petulant a spleen

• patulent

Borrowed from French pétulant.

• IPA^(key): /ˌpeː.tuˈlɑnt/
• Hyphenation: pe‧tu‧lant

petulant (not comparable)

1. (rare) exuberant

Borrowed from French pétulant.

petulant m or n (feminine singular petulantă, masculine plural petulanți, feminine and neuter plural petulante)

1. (literary) exuberant, lively

   Synonyms: vioi, zburdalnic