What does "peevish" mean?
Constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matters; fretful, whiny.
Peevish
/ˈpiːvɪʃ/ adj, adv
adj, adv ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matters; fretful, whiny.
- Grammar: peevish is listed as adj, adv.
- Nearest alternatives: cranky, irritable, petulant, testy.
- Useful contrasts: calm, expressionless, glad.
- Usage evidence: I have a co-worker who's so peevish and unpleasant that we call her Little Miss Sunshine behind her back.
How to use "peevish"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "peevish" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "peevish" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "peevish" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "peevish" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "peevish" is acting as adj, adv in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cranky" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "peevish", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matters; fretful, whiny.
"Due to the long wait, there were several peevish patients in the doctor’s waiting room."
- 2 Quick to become bad-tempered or cross, especially due to insignificant matters; irritable, pettish, petulant.
"I would rather figure things out on my own than ask that peevish librarian for help."
- 3 Of weather: blustery, windy; also, of wind: cold and strong; bitter, sharp. Canada, Northern-England, figuratively
"Serene he bears the peeviſh eaſtern blaſt, / And uninfected breaths the mortal South."
- 4 Coy, modest. obsolete
- 5 Foolish, silly. obsolete
"VVhy vvhat a peeuiſh Foole vvas that of Creet [i.e., Daedalus], / That taught his Sonne [Icarus] the office of a Fovvle, / And yet for all his vvings, the Foole vvas drovvn'd."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Harmful, injurious; also, mischievous; or malicious, spiteful. obsolete
"[The Scots] brent ſome of the English Shippes. With the which victory, they were ſo inflamed with pride, that in deriſion of the king, they made certaine peeuiſhe and mocking rymes vvhich I paſſe ouer."
- 7 Impulsive and unpredictable; capricious, fickle. obsolete
"[T]heſe women be all ſuche madde pieuiſhe elues / They will not be wonne except it pleaſe them ſelues."
- 8 Obstinately in the wrong; perverse, stubborn. obsolete
"But ſuche as will perſyſt ſtyll in theyr wylfulneſſe, I muſt nedes iudge not only foliſhe, froward and obstynate: but also peuiſhe, peruerſe and indurate."
- 9 Out of one's mind; mad. obsolete
"The dredfull dinne droue all the rowte on a rowe; / Some tremblid, some girnid, some gaspid, some gasid, / As people halfe peuysshe, or men that were masyd."
- 10 Of a thing: evoking a feeling of distaste, horror, etc. obsolete
"The Lords Supper and your peeviſh, popiſh private maſſe doe agree together like God and the divell, Chriſt and Beliall, light and darkneſſe, truth and falſehood, […]"
- 11 Clever, skilful. Northern-England, obsolete
"The word peeviſh among the vulgar of Scotland is uſed for niggardly, covetous; in the North of England, for vvitty, ſubtile."
Adjective
- 1 easily irritated or annoyed wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Synonym of peevishly (“in a peevish manner: whiningly; irritably, petulantly; etc.”). not-comparable, obsolete
"She was not halfe so wyse / As she was peuysshe nyse."
Antonyms
Example
"I have a co-worker who's so peevish and unpleasant that we call her Little Miss Sunshine behind her back."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "peevish"?
Common synonyms include: cranky, irritable, petulant, testy, acrimonious, bad-tempered.
How do you use "peevish" in a sentence?
I have a co-worker who's so peevish and unpleasant that we call her Little Miss Sunshine behind her back.
How do you pronounce "peevish"?
Pronounced /ˈpiːvɪʃ/.
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English pievish, peuysche, pevish, pevysh (“capricious, wilful; perverse, wayward”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from one of the following: * From an unattested Old French word, from Latin perversus (“corrupted, perverted, subverted; overthrown”), the perfect passive participle of pervertō (“to corrupt, subvert; to overthrow”), from per- (prefix meaning ‘intensively, thoroughly’) + vertō (“to turn; to turn upside down, overturn, overthrow, subvert”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to rotate; to turn”)). However, the Oxford English Dictionary says this derivation “presents some formal difficulties”. * From Middle French *expaive + -ish (similar to; somewhat, rather). *Expaive is an unattested variant of Middle French espave, Old French espave (“(adjective) of an animal: stray; of a person: foreign; (noun) flotsam; lost property”) (referring to the behaviour of stray animals; modern French épave), from Latin expavidus (“extremely frightened or horrified”), from ex- (intensifying prefix) + pavidus (“fearful, terrified; quaking, trembling; shy, timid”) (from paveō (“to be afraid; fear; to quake or tremble with fear”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *paw- (“to hit, strike”)) + -idus (suffix meaning ‘tending to’ forming adjectives)). The adverb is derived from the adjective.