peevish

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpivɪʃ/ UK /ˈpiːvɪʃ/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
easily irritated; querulous and bad-tempered

The toddler grew peevish without his nap.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · easily irritated; querulous... irritable querulous fretful petulant testy cantankerous cranky

Opposites

good-humored amiable easygoing placid

Word family

Forms peevishness

Derived forms peevishlypeevishnesspeeve

Related forms peeve

Etymology

From Middle English pevish, pevische ('spiteful, perverse, silly'), of uncertain origin.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# peevish

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈpivɪʃ
**IPA (UK):** ˈpiːvɪʃ

## Meanings
1. easily irritated; querulous and bad-tempered

## Examples
- The toddler grew peevish without his nap.

## Synonyms
- irritable
- querulous
- fretful
- petulant
- testy
- cantankerous
- cranky

## Antonyms
- good-humored
- amiable
- easygoing
- placid

## Derived Forms
- peevishly
- peevishness
- peeve

## Related Forms
- peeve

## Etymology
From Middle English pevish, pevische ('spiteful, perverse, silly'), of uncertain origin.

## AI Etymology
Peevish comes from Middle English pevish, pevische ('spiteful, perverse, silly'), of uncertain origin. As an adjective, peevish means easily irritated; querulous and bad-tempered. The same family is visible in derived forms such as peevishly, peevishness, and peeve and related forms such as peeve. The uncertainty belongs to the older derivation, so the explanation should preserve alternatives rather than choosing one unsupported origin.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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