pettish
"pettish" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pettish” 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) - Bad-tempered; peevish.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pettish · pettish · English
pettish · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pettish |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pettish” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
pettish is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Bad-tempered; peevish.".
Zero misspellings are on record for pettish in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From pet + -ish. The correct English form is pettish, spelled P-E-T-T-I-S-H.
Definition
- 1Bad-tempered; peevish.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pettish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Indeed I would advise every single lady, if possible, to attend her inamorato, pretty frequently at the card table; and however genteel and agreeable his behaviour should be to herself, if he is hasty or pettish with any one else in company, she may depend on the same fate when once the knot is tied.
She drew a quick pettish breath of objection, writhing uneasily in her seat.
Etymology
From pet + -ish.
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.
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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.