adj.
- Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish.
- Contemptuous in speech or behavior.
[Latin petulāns, petulant-, insolent, from petere, to assail.]
petulance pet'u·lance or pet'u·lan·cy n.petulantly pet'u·lant·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
