peevish

/ˈpiːvɪʃ/

//ˈpiːvɪʃ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"peevish" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“peevish” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matters; fretful, whiny.

Corpus desk

Index EN-peevish · peevish · English

peevish · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for peevish
PropertyValue
Headwordpeevish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpiːvɪʃ/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “peevish” sits in English frequency

peevishsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

peevish is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈpiːvɪʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 11 senses are on record.

peevish has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is derived from Late Middle English pievish, peuysche, pevish, pevysh (“capricious, wilful; perverse, wayward”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from one of the following: * From an unattested Old French word, from Latin perversus (“corr… The correct English form is peevish, spelled P-E-E-V-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matters; fretful, whiny.
  2. 2
    Quick to become bad-tempered or cross, especially due to insignificant matters; irritable, pettish, petulant.
  3. 3
    Of weather: blustery, windy; also, of wind: cold and strong; bitter, sharp.
  4. 4
    Coy, modest.
  5. 5
    Foolish, silly.
  6. 6
    Harmful, injurious; also, mischievous; or malicious, spiteful.
  7. 7
    Impulsive and unpredictable; capricious, fickle.
  8. 8
    Obstinately in the wrong; perverse, stubborn.
  9. 9
    Out of one's mind; mad.
  10. 10
    Of a thing: evoking a feeling of distaste, horror, etc.
  11. 11
    Clever, skilful.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how peevish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Due to the long wait, there were several peevish patients in the doctor’s waiting room.
  2. [T]he nature of religion, […] showeth it consisteth […] not in a peevish crossness and obstinate repugnancy to received laws and customs, but in a quiet and peaceable submission to the express laws of God, and lawful commands of man; […]

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English pievish, peuysche, pevish, pevysh (“capricious, wilful; perverse, wayward”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from one of the following: * From an unattested Old French word, from Latin perversus (“corrupted, perverted, subverted; overthrown”), the perfect passive participle of pervertō (“to corrupt, subvert; to overthrow”), from per- (prefix meaning ‘intensively, thoroughly’) + vertō (“to turn; to turn upside down, overturn, overthrow, subvert”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to rotate; to turn”)). However, the Oxford English Dictionary says this derivation “presents some formal difficulties”. * From Middle French *expaive + -ish (similar to; somewhat, rather). *Expaive is an unattested variant of Middle French espave, Old French espave (“(adjective) of an animal: stray; of a person: foreign; (noun) flotsam; lost property”) (referring to the behaviour of stray animals; modern French épave), from Latin expavidus (“extremely frightened or horrified”), from ex- (intensifying prefix) + pavidus (“fearful, terrified; quaking, trembling; shy, timid”) (from paveō (“to be afraid; fear; to quake or tremble with fear”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *paw- (“to hit, strike”)) + -idus (suffix meaning ‘tending to’ forming adjectives)). The adverb is derived from the adjective.

Synonyms

bemoaningcarpingcomplainingfretfulgripefulgripeygrotchygrouchygrumblinggrumpyknappishkvetchymardymoaningnoodgypeevishpettishplaintfulqueruloussookyspleenysulkywhingywhiningwhiny

Antonyms

expressionlesshappycalmimpassivepatientphlegmaticstoicstoicaltolerantuncomplainingunflappableunpeevish

This word in other languages

alaraco(Español)geignard(Français)gereizt(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "peevish"?
"peevish" is spelled P-E-E-V-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpiːvɪʃ/.
What does "peevish" mean?
As an adjective, "peevish" means: Constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matters; fretful, whiny.
How do you pronounce "peevish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "peevish" is /ˈpiːvɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "peevish"?
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English pievish, peuysche, pevish, pevysh (“capricious, wilful; perverse, wayward”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from one of the following: * From an unattested Old French word, from Latin perver... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list