petulant
adjective
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Petulant Has Latin Roots
Petulant may have changed its meaning over the years, but it has retained its status as “word most people would not use to describe themselves in a job interview.” Hailing from Middle French and Latin, petulant began its English tenure in the late 16th century with the meaning recorded in our unabridged dictionary as “wanton or immodest in speech or behavior”—in other words, “lewd” or “obscene.” The word eventually softened, at least somewhat, from describing those who are forward in—shall we say—prurient ways, to those who are forward by being merely rude and angrily bold. Today the word is most commonly used to describe someone acting snippy and snippety, snappish and snappy, displaying an often childish ill or short temper of the kind that tends to arise from annoyance at not getting one’s way.
Examples of petulant in a Sentence
Harold Perkin, Times Literary Supplement, 26 June 1992
In the hot, petulant little cockpit she was triumphant—drunk with anger, defiance, and the beginnings of relief.
—Sebastian Faulks, Independent on Sunday (London), 25 Nov. 1990
Sometimes, under … rapid-fire questioning, he became petulant and quibbled over words in a way that suggested a close reading of the law.
—Frances FitzGerald, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 1989
Mouth petulant but its hardness in it, behind it. Looking at that mouth you felt her teeth in you …
—Jayne Anne Phillips, Black Tickets, (1975) 1979
Her tone was petulant and angry.
a petulant and fussy man who is always blaming everyone else for his problems
Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 16 July 2025
Martin Winkler, Fort Lauderdale Protecting PBS, NPR Americans have never elevated a more thin-skinned, petulant person to the presidency than the current guy.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2025
Panahi’s most recent release available for streaming, No Bears, is worlds away from his first petulant responses to the regime’s ban on his filmmaking.
—Tiara Ataii, Vulture, 24 June 2025
There’s the nepo baby president who never really wanted the responsibility but rises to the occasion because his country needs it in Marsden as the charming President Bradford, reminiscent of Scandal’s Fitz but less petulant.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, refinery29.com, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petulant
Cite this Entry
“Petulant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petulant. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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petulant
adjective
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