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."

Wordsworth.

She is peevish, sullen, froward. Shak.

2.

Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction; as, a peevish answer.

3.

Silly; childish; trifling.

[Obs.]

To send such peevish tokens to a king. Shak.

Syn. -- Querulous; petulant; cross; ill-tempered; testy; captious; discontented. See Fretful.

 

© Webster 1913.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.