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- DictionaryPeev·ish/ˈpēviSH/
adjective
- 1. easily irritated, especially by unimportant things: "all this makes Steve fretful and peevish"
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adverb “It's your own fault,” she said peevishly. See peevish in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Definition of peevish adjective in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
- Etymology
- Pronunciation
- Adjective
- Adverb
From Middle English pevische, pevisse, pevysse, peivesshe, also peyuesshe, peeuish, of obscure origin. Perhaps from Middle English pew, pue (“a plaintive cry, the cry of a bird”), equivalent to pue + -ish. Cognate with Scots pevis, pevess, pevych, pevach (“peevish”), Scots pew, peu (“to cry in a plaintive manner”). See pue. An alternative etymolog...
(UK) IPA(key): /ˈpiːvɪʃ/(US) IPA(key): /ˈpivɪʃ/peevish (comparative more peevish, superlative most peevish) 1. Characterized by or exhibiting petty bad temper, bad-tempered, moody, cross. [from 1520] 1.1. a. 1530 (date written), John Skelton, “Poems against Garnesche. Skelton Laureate Defendar ageinst Lusty Garnyshe Well Beseen Crystofer Chalangar, et cetera.”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Po...
peevish (not comparable) 1. (obsolete) Peevishly. 1.1. c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third:[…]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]: 1.1.1. Be not peeuish fond in great desi...
May 13, 2024 · peevish in American English. (ˈpivɪʃ) adjective. 1. cross, querulous, or fretful, as from vexation or discontent. a peevish youngster. 2. showing annoyance, irritation, or bad mood. a peevish reply.
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English peev‧ish /ˈpiːvɪʃ/ adjective easily annoyed by small and unimportant things → bad-tempered The kids were peevish after so long in the car. —peevishly adverb —peevishness noun [ uncountable] Examples from the Corpus peevish • But a week before the examination he became restless and peevish.
Definition of peevish in English: peevish. Pronunciation: /ˈpiːvɪʃ/ adjective. having or showing an irritable disposition: a thin peevish voice. More example sentences Synonyms. Derivatives. peevishly. Pronunciation: /ˈpiːvɪʃli/ adverb. Example sentences. peevishness. Pronunciation: /ˈpiːvɪʃnɪs/ noun. Example sentences. Origin.
What does the word peevish mean? There are ten meanings listed in OED's entry for the word peevish , seven of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
adjective. These are words and phrases related to peevish. Click on any word or phrase to go to its thesaurus page. Or, go to the definition of peevish. Father gets peevish when he's kept waiting. Synonyms. cross. irritable. testy. grumpy. grouchy. ill-humored. sulky. petulant. surly. snappish. fractious. cantankerous. cranky. crabby. churlish.
