Meanings
nounpettishness (countable and uncountable, plural pettishnesses)
plural pettishnesses
- countableuncountableThe state of being pettish; peevishness, irritability.First known use 17th c.
The sense that she was observed, or, more properly speaking, that she was watched by my looks, seemed to give Diana a mixture of embarrassment, pain, and pettishness.
1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter III, in Rob Roy. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 46
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger
Broader
ill nature
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
pettishness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pettishness
MLA
“pettishness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pettishness. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pettishness,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pettishness.
Source: pettishness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.