English Dictionary: petulance | by the DICT Development Group |
2 results for petulance | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Petulance \Pet"u*lance\, Petulancy \Pet"u*lan*cy\, n. [L. petulania: cf. F. p[82]tulance. See {Petulant}.] The quality or state of being petulant; temporary peevishness; pettishness; capricious ill humor. [bd]The petulancy of our words.[b8] --B. Jonson. Like pride in some, and like petulance in others. --Clarendon. The lowering eye, the petulance, the frown. --Cowper. Syn: {Petulance}, {Peevishness}. -- Peevishness implies the permanence of a sour, fretful temper; petulance implies temporary or capricious irritation. |