petulant

petulant

PET-chuh-lunt  

adjective

Meaning

  1 : insolent or rude in speech or behavior

*2 : characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor : peevish

Example Sentence

     "'What is it all about?' cried Dorian in his petulant way, flinging himself down on the sofa." (Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray)

	See a map of "petulant" in the Visual Thesaurus.

Did you know?

     "Petulant" is one of many English words that are related to the Latin verb "petere," which means "to go to," "to attack," "to seek," or "to request." "Petere" is a relative of the Latin adjective "petulans" ("impudent"), from which "petulant" was derived. Some other words with connections to "petere" are "compete" and "appetite." "Competere," the Late Latin precursor to "compete," is a combination of the prefix "com-" and the verb "petere." The joining of "ad-" and "petere" led to "appetere" ("to strive after"), and eventually to Latin "appetitus," the source of our "appetite." Additional descendants of "petere" are "petition," "perpetual," and "impetus."