petulant
/ˈpɛt͡ʃʊlənt/adjective
petulant is spelled P-E-T-U-L-A-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, petulant means “Childishly irritable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in petulant?
| Letters | 8: P-E-T-U-L-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is petulant?
Petulant appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th 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 petulant?
- /ˈpɛt͡ʃʊlənt/
- /ˈpɛtjʊlənt/
- /ˈpɛt͡ʃələnt/
Petulant has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-petulant.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-JutishMale-petulant.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of petulant
- more petulant comparative
- most petulant superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does petulant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Childishly irritable.
Lack of sleep is causing Dave's recent petulant behavior.
- 2
obsoleteForward; pert; insolent; wanton.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Petulant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense easily irritated or annoyed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | irascible, pétulant |
| German | leicht reizbar, gereizt, nervös, launisch, launenhaft, verdrießlich |
| Spanish | petulante, mostrar petulancia, ponerse tonto |
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.
Where does petulant come from?
From Middle French, from Latin petulāns, akin to petō (“to ask for”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).