What is "peevish"

Usage examples of "peevish".

Now a fat and ponderous avocat rose up and was about to speak, but the Bailly, with a peevish gesture, waved him down, and he settled heavily into place again.

If ill behap us, it shall be set down that it had from thy peevish will original.

He pumped a handle energetically and, after some peevish coughing, a desultory trickle of water spluttered irritably into the sink.

By sunrise, the entire combined forces of the invaders had cast aside their weapons and dissolved into a tide of morose and peevish stragglers moping across the countryside, utterly disorganized, complaining about trifles and whining over petty grievances, totally absorbed in their own vexations and displeasures.

His screaming quieted the buzzards and further disgruntled the Poet, who was feeling peevish anyhow.

To a cave at this point Dormy Jamais had brought the trembling Olivier Delagarde, unrepenting and peevish, but with a craven fear of the Royal Court and a furious populace quickening his footsteps.

However, I am told that Gary Fussfeld was forever inciting peevish squabbles over the menu for supper socials, as he abhorred ham biscuits, hog jowls, chitlins, pork cracklings and other such traditional SoPrim Southern delicacies.

But when the prince descends to the narrow and peevish character of a disputant, he is easily provoked to supply the defect of argument by the plenitude of power, and to chastise without mercy the perverse blindness of those who willfully shut their eyes against the light of demonstration.

Upon which Jones, in a peevish manner, bid him not play the fool, but tell him in what condition he found him.

The contrast between Macheath, Polly, and Lucy--and Dr. Samuel Johnson, blind, peevish Mrs.

His cruelty did not seem designed so much as the ebullitions of a peevish, snarling little temper, united to a mind incapable of conceiving the results of his acts, or understanding the pain he was Inflicting.

From time to time he turned about and cast a peevish, impatient look over the wall toward the highway, especially when the streetcars, empty for the most part, stopped at the switch and clanged their bells as they passed one another by and moved off in opposite directions.

Anger, because Envy blinds the eyes of a man, and Anger troubleth a man, and Sloth maketh him heavy, thoughtful, and peevish.

It was not at all like the Catholic masses of Enderby's youth, dyspeptic Maynooth leprechauns peevish about last week's collections, or the anaemic evensongs of his brief curative Anglicanism, with fine if archaic Jacobean prose apologetically delivered by cricketing rectors and very well-made hymns bleated by conservativeclubcakebaking etiolated housewives with herb gardens.

But surely this peevish delicacy, whence-ever it arises can never be carried so far as to make us deny the existence of every species of merit, and all distinction of manners and behaviour.