petulant

Definition

Childishly irritable.

Etymology

From Middle French, from Latin petulāns, akin to petō (“to ask for”).

Example Sentences

• "Lack of sleep is causing Dave's recent petulant behavior."
• "But when your praying has troubled the silence long it may be that some god as he strolls in Pegāna’s glades may come on one of our lost prayers, that flutters like a butterfly tossed in storm when all its wings are broken; then if the gods be merciful they may ease our fears in Sidith, or else they may crush us, being petulant gods, and so we shall see trouble in Sidith no longer, with its pestilence and dearth and fears of war."
• "Former associates have described Musk as petty, cruel and petulant, particularly when frustrated or challenged."