petulance Meaning, Definition & Usage
-
noun an irritable petulant feeling
irritability; choler; crossness; fretfulness; peevishness; fussiness.
WordNet
Pet"u*lance, Pet"u*lan*cy noun
(Also<
- Petulance
- Petulancy
)
Etymology
L.Definitions
The quality or state of being petulant; temporary peevishness; pettishness; capricious ill humor. "The petulancy of our words." B. Jonson.Like pride in some, and like petulance in others. Clarendon.
The lowering eye, the petulance, the frown. Cowper.
Syn. -- Petulance ,Peevishness . -- Peevishness implies the permanence of a sour, fretful temper; petulance implies temporary or capricious irritation.
