bad-tempered and unreasonable, especially because you cannot do or have what you want He behaved like a petulant child and refused to cooperate. Her tone of voice became abrupt and petulant.
adverb 'I won't go!' he said petulantly.
NAmE//ˈpɛtʃələns//
noun [uncountable] She withdrew the offer in a fit of petulance.See petulant in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation: petulant