| 释义 |
fretful, a.|ˈfrɛtfʊl|
[f. fret v.1 + -ful.]
†1.
a. Corrosive, irritating, lit. and fig.
b. Irritated, inflamed. Obs.
1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 403 Though parting be a fretfull corosiue, It is applyed to a deathfull wound. 1594Plat Jewell-ho. i. 56 More sharpe, and fretfull to their fingers than their vsuall morter. 1804Abernethy Surg. Observ. 126 The ulcer..was of the size of a shilling, with fretful edges.
2. Disposed to fret, irritable, peevish, ill-tempered; impatient, restless.
1602Shakes. Ham. i. v. 20 A Tale..whose lightest word would..make..each particular haire to stand on end, Like Quilles vpon the fretfull Porpentine. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 96 In so much as he became fretfull, and pettish. 1739Cibber Apol. (1756) II. 34 The fretful temper of a friend. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 209 Impelled by a fretful impetuosity. 1802Med. Jrnl. VIII. 528 The child had become more silly and fretful. 1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 83 A horse continues uneasy and fretful with the bit. 1837Lytton E. Maltrav. iii. ii, Men of second-rate faculties..are fretful and nervous. a1848Rossetti Blessed Damozel vi, Where this earth Spins like a fretful midge.
3. a. Of water, etc.: Agitated, troubled, broken into waves. b. Of the wind: Blowing in frets or gusts; gusty.
1613–16W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. iv. 691 Two goodly streames..Whose fretfull waues beating against the hill, Did all the bottome with soft muttrings fill. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §322 The horizon..was so extremely black, fretful, and hazy, that nothing could be seen. a1849J. C. Mangan Poems (1859) 122 Bitter blows the fretful morning wind. 1887Pall Mall G. 25 July 2/2 A pretty picture framed by the fretful sea and the cloudless sky.
4. Characterized by or apt to produce fretting.
1737Thomson Mem. Ld. Talbot 340 The kindred Souls of every Land, (Howe'er divided in the fretful Days Of Prejudice and Error) mingled now. 1798Wordsw. Tintern Abbey, The fretful stir Unprofitable and the fever of the world. 1852Blackie Study Lang. 33 To pick words out of a dictionary is fretful. 1890Murray's Mag. June 737 The fearsome, fretful, forest, dank and deep.
Hence ˈfretfully adv., in a fretful manner; ˈfretfulness, the quality or condition of being fretful.
1615Crooke Body of Man 274 And this we tearme fretfulnesse or pettishnes. 1789F. Burney Diary Apr., Really frightened at she knew not what, she fretfully exclaimed, [etc.]. 1843J. Martineau Chr. Life (1867) 239 Drives away every trace of fretfulness. 1860Froude Hist. Eng. V. 174 The Carews rode fretfully up and down the river banks, probing the mud with their lances to find footing for their horses. 1880Ouida Moths I. ix. 228 ‘What is the use of putting off?’ said her mother fretfully, ‘you will be ill’. |