as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
I would rather figure things out on my own than ask that peevish librarian for help
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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
On a less peevish note: The entry is making its New York Times Crossword debut.
—Sam Corbin, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Rojas’s recollections weren’t peevish—fine work was produced under these conditions.
—Ian Parker, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for peevish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peevish
irritable
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.—
Cite this Entry
“Peevish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peevish. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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