petulant

Adjective

1. Childishly irritable.
   • Lack of sleep is causing Dave's recent petulant behavior.
   • But when your praying has troubled the silence long it may be that some god as he strolls in Pegāna’s glades may come on one of our lost prayers, that flutters like a butterfly tossed in storm when all its wings are...
   • Former associates have described Musk as petty, cruel and petulant, particularly when frustrated or challenged. - 2021 December 13, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year...

   Synonyms: bad-tempered crabby grouchy huffy atrabilious bilious bitchy brainish cantankerous carnaptious choleric crabbit cranky crotchety dyspeptic edgy fantoddish fiery fractious fretful grumpy grotchy hissy hot-livered

   Antonyms: easygoing

2. Forward; pert; insolent; wanton.
   • Who hath not like cause to complain, and is not so troubled, that shall fall into the mouths of such men? for many are of so petulant a spleen - 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of...

   Synonyms: brazen flippant impertinent audacious bold get wise bold-faced bold as brass brassy brazen-faced cheeky chutzpadik cocket cute dicacious facey familiar flip forward fresh impious impudent insolent irreverent