petulance

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: pet=u=lance

CIDE DICTIONARY

petulance, n. [L. petulania: cf. F. pétulance. See Petulant.].

 The quality or state of being petulant; temporary peevishness; pettishness; capricious ill humor.  B. Jonson.  [1913 Webster]
"Like pride in some, and like petulance in others."  [1913 Webster]
"The lowering eye, the petulance, the frown."  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- Petulance, Peevishness. -- Peevishness implies the permanence of a sour, fretful temper; petulance implies temporary or capricious irritation.

THESAURUS

petulance

Faustianism, arbitrariness, beef, beefing, bellyache, bellyaching, bitch, bitching, caprice, capriciousness, cold comfort, complaining, complaint, crankiness, crotchetiness, destructive criticism, disappointment, discontent, discontentedness, discontentment, disgruntlement, dissatisfaction, dissatisfiedness, dissent, divine discontent, envy, fancifulness, fantasticality, faultfinding, freakishness, fretfulness, grievance, gripe, griping, groan, groaning, grouse, grousing, grumbling, holler, howl, humorsomeness, ill humor, kick, kicking, moodiness, motivelessness, murmuring, peeve, peevishness, pet peeve, pettishness, petulancy, protest, querulousness, quirkiness, rebelliousness, resentfulness, resentment, restiveness, restlessness, scolding, shrewishness, sniping, sourness, squawk, squawking, sulkiness, temperamentalness, uneasiness, unfulfillment, unhappiness, unpleasure, unsatisfaction, vexation of spirit, vixenishness, whimsicality, whimsicalness, whimsy, whining, yapping

ROGET THESAURUS

petulance

Insolence

N insolence, haughtiness, arrogance, airs, overbearance, domineering, tyranny, impertinence, sauciness, flippancy, dicacity, petulance, procacity, bluster, swagger, swaggering, bounce, terrorism, assumption, presumption, beggar on horseback, usurpation, impudence, assurance, audacity, hardihood, front, face, brass, shamelessness, effrontery, hardened front, face of brass, assumption of infallibility, saucebox, insolent, haughty, arrogant, imperious, magisterial, dictatorial, arbitrary, high-handed, high and mighty, contumelious, supercilious, overbearing, intolerant, domineering, overweening, high-flown, flippant, pert, fresh, cavalier, saucy, forward, impertinent, malapert, precocious, assuming, would-be, bumptious, bluff, brazen, shameless, aweless, unblushlng, unabashed, brazen, boldfaced-, barefaced-, brazen-faced, dead to shame, lost to shame, impudent, audacious, presumptuous, free and easy, devil-may-care, rollicking, jaunty, janty, roistering, blustering, hectoring, swaggering, vaporing, thrasonic, fire eating, full of sound and fury, with a high hand, ex cathedra, one's bark being worse than his bite, beggars mounted run their horse to death, quid times? Caesarem vehis, wagahai wa (expressing superiority).

Irascibility

N irascibility, irascibleness, temper, crossness, susceptibility, procacity, petulance, irritability, tartness, acerbity, protervity, pugnacity, excitability, bad temper, fiery temper, crooked temper, irritable, temper, genus irritabile, hot blood, ill humor, asperity, churlishness, huff, a word and a blow, Sir Fretful Plagiary, brabbler, Tartar, shrew, vixen, virago, termagant, dragon, scold, Xantippe, porcupine, spitfire, fire eater, fury, irascible, bad-tempered, ill-tempered, irritable, susceptible, excitable, thin-skinned, fretful, fidgety, on the fret, hasty, overhasty, quick, warm, hot, testy, touchy, techy, tetchy, like touchwood, like tinder, huffy, pettish, petulant, waspish, snappish, peppery, fiery, passionate, choleric, shrewish, sudden and quick in quarrel, querulous, captious, moodish, quarrelsome, contentious, disputatious, pugnacious, cantankerous, exceptious, restiff, churlish, cross, cross as crabs, cross as two sticks, cross as a cat, cross as a dog, cross as the tongs, fractious, peevish, acari=atre, in a bad temper, sulky, angry, resentful, resentive, vindictive, Int, pish!, a vieux comptes nouvelles disputes, quamvis tegatur proditur vultu furor, vino tortus et ira.