petulant
adjective/ˈpetʃələnt/
/ˈpetʃələnt/
- behaving in an angry or sulky way, especially because you cannot do or have what you want synonym pettish
- He behaved like a petulant child and refused to cooperate.
- Her tone of voice became abrupt and petulant.
Word Originlate 16th cent. (in the sense ‘immodest’): from French pétulant, from Latin petulant- ‘impudent’ (related to petere ‘aim at, seek’). The current sense (mid 18th cent.) is influenced by pettish.Want to learn more?
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petulant