petulance

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
petulance
    n 1: an irritable petulant feeling [syn: {irritability},
         {crossness}, {fretfulness}, {fussiness}, {peevishness},
         {petulance}, {choler}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Petulance \Pet"u*lance\, Petulancy \Pet"u*lan*cy\, n. [L.
   petulania: cf. F. p['e]tulance. See {Petulant}.]
   The quality or state of being petulant; temporary
   peevishness; pettishness; capricious ill humor. "The
   petulancy of our words." --B. Jonson.
   [1913 Webster]

         Like pride in some, and like petulance in others.
                                                  --Clarendon.
   [1913 Webster]

         The lowering eye, the petulance, the frown. --Cowper.
   [1913 Webster]

   Syn: {Petulance}, {Peevishness}. -- Peevishness implies the
        permanence of a sour, fretful temper; petulance implies
        temporary or capricious irritation.
        [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
81 Moby Thesaurus words for "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

    

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