fretful

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
fretful
    adj 1: nervous and unable to relax; "a constant fretful stamping
           of hooves"; "a restless child" [syn: {antsy}, {fidgety},
           {fretful}, {itchy}]
    2: habitually complaining; "a whiny child" [syn: {fretful},
       {querulous}, {whiney}, {whiny}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Fretful \Fret"ful\, a. [See 2d {Fret}.]
   Disposed to fret; ill-humored; peevish; angry; in a state of
   vexation; as, a fretful temper. -- {Fret"ful*ly}, adv. --
   {Fret"ful*ness}, n.

   Syn: Peevish; ill-humored; ill-natured; irritable; waspish;
        captious; petulant; splenetic; spleeny; passionate;
        angry.

   Usage: {Fretful}, {Peevish}, {Cross}. These words all
          indicate an unamiable working and expression of
          temper. Peevish marks more especially the inward
          spirit: a peevish man is always ready to find fault.
          Fretful points rather to the outward act, and marks a
          complaining impatience: sickly children are apt to be
          fretful. Crossness is peevishness mingled with
          vexation or anger.
          [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
93 Moby Thesaurus words for "fretful":
      Jeremianic, abrupt, agitated, antsy, antsy-pantsy, anxious,
      bad-tempered, breathless, bustling, captious, carping, catty,
      caviling, chafing, choleric, complaining, contrary, crabby, cranky,
      critical, cross, curt, disagreeable, eager, edgy, excited,
      faultfinding, fidgety, fluttering, fluttery, fractious, fretting,
      fussing, fussy, grumpy, hasty, hopped-up, howling, huffy,
      ill-natured, ill-tempered, impatient, impetuous, in a lather,
      in a stew, in a sweat, irascible, irritable, jumpy, lamentive,
      moanful, moody, mournful, nagging, naggy, on edge, peevish,
      perverse, pettish, petulant, plaintive, plangent, puling,
      querulous, resentful, restive, restless, short, short-tempered,
      shrewish, snappish, sorrowful, splenetic, squirming, squirmy,
      sulky, testy, tetchy, touchy, turbulent, ululant, uneasy,
      unpatient, unquiet, unsettled, vexed, vixenish, vixenly, wailful,
      waspish, whimpering, whining, whiny

    

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