Etymology dictionary. 2014.
Peevish — Pee vish, a. [OE. pevische; of uncertain origin, perh. from a word imitative of the noise made by fretful children + ish.] 1. Habitually fretful; easily vexed or fretted; hard to please; apt to complain; querulous; petulant. Her peevish babe.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
peevish — index fractious, froward, perverse, petulant, querulous, resentful, restive, sensitive (easily affected) … Law dictionary
peevish — irritable, fractious, snappish, waspish, petulant, pettish, huffy, fretful, querulous Analogous words: captious, carping, caviling, faultfinding, *critical … New Dictionary of Synonyms
peevish — [adj] irritable, testy acrimonious, angry, bad tempered, cantankerous, captious, carping, caviling, childish, churlish, complaining, crabbed*, cranky, critical, cross, crotchety*, crusty*, cussed, fault finding, fractious, fretful, fretting,… … New thesaurus
peevish — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ irritable. DERIVATIVES peevishly adverb peevishness noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «foolish, mad, spiteful»: of unknown origin … English terms dictionary
peevish — [pē′vish] adj. [ME pevische < ?] 1. hard to please; irritable; fretful; cross 2. showing ill humor or impatience, as a glance or remark peevishly adv. peevishness n … English World dictionary
peevish — peevishly, adv. peevishness, n. /pee vish/, adj. 1. cross, querulous, or fretful, as from vexation or discontent: a peevish youngster. 2. showing annoyance, irritation, or bad mood: a peevish reply; a peevish frown. 3. perverse or obstinate.… … Universalium
peevish — [[t]pi͟ːvɪʃ[/t]] ADJ GRADED Someone who is peevish is bad tempered. Aubrey had slept little and that always made him peevish... She glared down at me with a peevish expression on her face. Syn: bad tempered Derived words: peevishly ADV GRADED ADV … English dictionary
peevish — adj. irritable peevish about * * * [ piːvɪʃ] [ irritable ] peevish about … Combinatory dictionary
peevish — adjective Etymology: Middle English pevish spiteful Date: circa 1530 1. querulous in temperament or mood ; fretful 2. perversely obstinate < a peevish child > 3. marked by ill temper • peevishly adverb • peevishness … New Collegiate Dictionary
