as in irritable
tending towards or characterized by agitation or irritability
They finally lulled the fretful baby to sleep. I kept having fretful thoughts about what would happen if we couldn't pay our bills.
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Recent Examples of fretful
Surf camp instructors noted that authorities have said the waters in Santa Monica Bay and elsewhere are safe, but some parents remain fretful.
—
Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2025
Performance Jones prods the start button and the four-cylinder power plant coughs grumpily into life, then settles to a fretful idle.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 28 May 2025
Suddenly the Toronto crowd’s sound turned from festive to fretful.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025
Long wait times became a self-fulfilling prophecy In recent weeks, news of the turmoil at Social Security mobilized fretful Americans to telephone or visit the agency, seeding further chaos.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretful
Adjective
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Some of the consequences of owing your body sleep are readily apparent, like feeling drowsy, irritable, or brain-foggy, or catching seemingly every virus.—
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Accompanying Rayner through these daily adventures were the irritable duck Chelveston (named after his English bomber base) and the gentle dog puppet Cuddly Dudley.—
Adjective
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The self-laceration is done on Damon Albarn Time, though, as Idles’ usual anxious guitar rave-ups are slowed and stripped here to a skipping, reggae-ish crawl, as synths squeak in the background and Albarn offers support via his forever-distant, disembodied backing vocals.—
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Obviously, Meghan’s anxious about it.—
Adjective
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The film follows a weary delivery driver with months to live who saves a brilliant but troubled teenage girl.—
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But many parents of troubled adults face myriad obstacles in getting help for their children, said Pasquini, who is a former nine-year member of the Contra Costa County Mental Health Commission and who has long worked for changes in the state’s conservatorship laws.—
Adjective
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In response, the White House is planning to adjust its messaging strategy to focus on affordability to try to win over voters who are worried about the high cost of living with plans to emphasize new tax breaks and show progress on fighting inflation.—
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Are Americans worried about inflation just wrong?—
Adjective
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But Colcord kept probing, and Lowell grew agitated.—
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Players from both teams shoved in front of the Providence bench, with Jones stepping in the middle as an agitated Ejiofor exchanged words with Powell.—
Adjective
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From a portable power bank to keep your phone charged to noise-canceling headphones that will drown out stressful sounds, these travel accessories will help nervous fliers and frequent travelers alike have easier journeys.—
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But now there's a new robo-tech in town, and my Roadie 3 is looking very nervous indeed.—
Adjective
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Slocum said that so far, voters of all political stripes have been apprehensive about these facilities.—
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People are apprehensive about being out and about, with the security forces on edge.—
Adjective
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While grunge seemed peevish, grim, defeatist, and dour—and extended the kind of us-vs.-them culture most famously centered by the indie rock of the ’80s and ’90s, Oasis was celebratory, communal, and democratic while exploring themes of alienation, escape, and fantasies of triumph.—
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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.—
Cite this Entry
“Fretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fretful. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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