peevish
peev·ish/ˈpivɪʃ/adjective
peevish is spelled P-E-E-V-I-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables (peev·ish). It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, peevish means “Constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matters; fretful, whiny” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in peevish?
| Letters | 7: P-E-E-V-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: peev·ish |
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 105,204th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is peevish?
Peevish appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce peevish?
- UK /ˈpiːvɪʃ/
- US /ˈpivɪʃ/
Peevish has 2 syllables, split peev·ish in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-peevish.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of peevish
- more peevish comparative
- most peevish superlative
- pevish
- pievish
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does peevish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matters; fretful, whiny.
Due to the long wait, there were several peevish patients in the doctor’s waiting room.
- 2
Quick to become bad-tempered or cross, especially due to insignificant matters; irritable, pettish, petulant.
I would rather figure things out on my own than ask that peevish librarian for help.
- 3
CanadaOf weather: blustery, windy; also, of wind: cold and strong; bitter, sharp.
- 4
obsoleteCoy, modest.
- 5
obsoleteFoolish, silly.
- 6
obsoleteHarmful, injurious; also, mischievous; or malicious, spiteful.
- 7
obsoleteImpulsive and unpredictable; capricious, fickle.
- 8
obsoleteObstinately in the wrong; perverse, stubborn.
adverb
- 1
obsoleteSynonym of peevishly (“in a peevish manner: whiningly; irritably, petulantly; etc.”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Peevish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense constantly complaining, especially in a childish way due to insignificant matter:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | geignard, maussade |
| German | gereizt, mürrisch, quengelig, verdrießlich, verdrossen |
| Spanish | alaraco, alharaquiento, malhumorado, quejica, quejicoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.