peevish

adjective

ˈpē-vish How to pronounce peevish (audio)
Definition of peevishnext
as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed I would rather figure things out on my own than ask that peevish librarian for help

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of peevish Thousands of people — displaced by disaster, their past lives gone up in smoke — are hostage to the whims of a peevish president who always puts his feelings first and cares nothing for the greater good. — Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2025 The childishness of his expressions infantilized a genuinely vicious regime, painting it as more peevish than petrifying. — Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026 The songs are muscular and syncretic as ever, but the normally peevish rapper doesn’t maintain his trolling energy for the full record, settling into a questioning and pensive pace. — Stephen Kearse, TIME, 8 Dec. 2024 Judith Lightfoot Clarke and Greg Wood carry themselves with peevish authority as the Butley, oozing entitlement. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for peevish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peevish
irritable
Adjective
  • The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
    — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026
Definition of irritable

Browse Nearby Words

peeving
peevish
peevishness
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Cite this Entry

“Peevish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peevish. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on peevish

Nglish: Translation of peevish for Spanish Speakers

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