PEEVISH

cranky, fractious, irritable, nettlesome, peevish, peckish, pettish, petulant, scratchy, testy, tetchy, techy

(adjective) easily irritated or annoyed; “an incorrigibly fractious young man”; “not the least nettlesome of his countrymen”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

peevish (comparative more peevish, superlative most peevish)

Characterized by or exhibiting petty bad temper, bad-tempered, moody, cross. [from 1520]

Constantly complaining, whining; childishly fretful.

Easily annoyed, especially by things that are not important; irritable, querulous.

(obsolete, adverb) Peevishly.

(obsolete, Northern England) Clever, expert. [18th c.]

(obsolete, Canada, Northern England) Sharp, piercing, bitter (of the wind); windy, blustery (of the weather).

(mostly, obsolete) Perverse, refractory; headstrong, obstinate; capricious, skittish; (also) coy. [from c. 1400]

(obsolete) Silly, senseless, foolish. [16th–17th c.]

(obsolete) Beside oneself; out of one's senses; mad. [16th c.]

(obsolete) Spiteful, malignant, mischievous, harmful. [16th c.]

(obsolete) Hateful, distasteful, horrid. [16th c.]

Source: Wiktionary

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Pee"vish, a. Etym: [OE. pevische; of uncertain origin, perh. from a word imitative of the noise made by fretful children + -ish.]

1. Habitually fretful; easily vexed or fretted; hard to please; apt to complain; querulous; petulant. "Her peevish babe." Wordsworth. She is peevish, sullen, froward. Shak.

2. Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction; as, a peevish answer.

3. Silly; childish; trifling. [Obs.] To send such peevish tokens to a king. Shak.

Syn.

– Querulous; petulant; cross; ill-tempered; testy; captious; discontented. See Fretful.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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