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.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
petulant