If someone is fretful, they behave in a way that shows that they worried or unhappy about something.
Don't assume your baby automatically needs feeding if she's fretful.
Synonyms: irritable, cross, worried, complaining More Synonyms of fretful
fretful in British English
(ˈfrɛtfʊl)
adjective
peevish, irritable, or upset
Derived forms
fretfully (ˈfretfully)
adverb
fretfulness (ˈfretfulness)
noun
fretful in American English
(ˈfrɛtfəl)
adjective
tending to fret; irritable and discontented; peevish
Derived forms
fretfully (ˈfretfully)
adverb
fretfulness (ˈfretfulness)
noun
Examples of 'fretful' in a sentence
fretful
Yet he was becoming increasingly fretful and nervous.
Deborah Cadbury THE LOST KING OF FRANCE: Revolution, Revenge and the Search for Louis XVII (2002)
An anxious one will look fretful and worried.
The Sun (2012)
Less so for gold, a classic haven for fretful investors in times of uncertainty and inflation.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
UK government debt was chased higher by investors who were fretful that the debt crisis in Europe and America could derail the global economic recovery.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
(adjective)
Definition
irritable or upset
an extremely fretful four-month old baby
Synonyms
irritable
He had been waiting for an hour and was starting to feel irritable.
cross
Everyone was getting bored and cross.
worried
I'm not worried about the future.
complaining
anxious
She admitted she was still anxious about the situation.
unhappy
uneasy
He looked uneasy and refused to answer questions.
edgy
She was nervous and edgy, waiting for the phone to ring.
touchy
He is very touchy about his past.
fractious
The children were predictably fractious.
petulant
He whined like a petulant child.
out of sorts
Lack of sleep can leave us feeling jaded and out of sorts.
tetchy
You always get tetchy when you're hungry.
ratty (British, New Zealand, informal)
I was beginning to get a bit ratty and fed up.
testy
Ben gets testy when he is hungry.
short-tempered
I'm a bit short-tempered sometimes.
querulous
a querulous male voice
peevish
Lack of sleep always made him peevish.
splenetic
retired military men with splenetic opinions
crotchety (informal)
a crotchety old man
captious
Additional synonyms
in the sense of anxious
Definition
causing anxiety
She admitted she was still anxious about the situation.
Synonyms
uneasy,
concerned,
worried,
troubled,
upset,
careful,
wired (slang),
nervous,
disturbed,
distressed,
uncomfortable,
tense,
fearful,
unsettled,
restless,
agitated,
taut,
disquieted,
apprehensive,
edgy,
watchful,
jittery (informal),
perturbed,
on edge,
ill at ease,
twitchy (informal),
solicitous,
overwrought,
fretful,
on tenterhooks,
in suspense,
hot and bothered,
unquiet (literary),
like a fish out of water,
antsy (informal),
angsty,
on pins and needles,
discomposed
in the sense of cross
Definition
angry
Everyone was getting bored and cross.
Synonyms
angry,
impatient,
irritable,
annoyed,
put out,
hacked (off) (informal),
pissed (taboo, slang),
crusty,
snappy,
grumpy,
vexed,
pissed off (taboo, slang),
sullen,
surly,
fractious,
petulant,
disagreeable,
short,
churlish,
peeved (informal),
ill-tempered,
irascible,
cantankerous,
tetchy,
ratty (British, New Zealand, informal),
tooshie (Australian, slang),
testy,
fretful,
waspish,
in a bad mood,
grouchy (informal),
querulous,
shirty (slang, British),
peevish,
splenetic,
crotchety (informal),
snappish,
ill-humoured,
liverish,
captious,
pettish,
out of humour,
hoha (New Zealand)
in the sense of crotchety
Definition
bad-tempered
a crotchety old man
Synonyms
bad-tempered,
difficult,
cross,
contrary,
awkward,
irritable,
crusty,
grumpy,
surly,
fractious,
disagreeable,
cantankerous,
tetchy,
ratty (British, New Zealand, informal),
testy,
peevish,
curmudgeonly,
obstreperous,
crabby,
liverish
Nearby words of
fretful
freshman
freshness
fret
fretful
friable
friar
friction
Synonyms of 'fretful'
fretful
Explore 'fretful' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of tetchy
Definition
cross, irritable, or touchy
You always get tetchy when you're hungry.
Synonyms
irritable,
cross,
grumpy,
crabbed,
impatient,
snappy,
sullen,
touchy,
bad-tempered,
petulant,
irascible,
cantankerous,
peppery,
ratty (British, New Zealand, informal),
testy,
quarrelsome,
chippy (informal),
fretful,
short-tempered,
waspish,
peevish,
quick-tempered,
splenetic,
snappish,
liverish,
captious
in the sense of touchy
Definition
easily upset or irritated
He is very touchy about his past.
Synonyms
oversensitive,
irritable,
bad-tempered,
cross,
crabbed,
grumpy,
surly,
petulant,
irascible,
tetchy,
ratty (British, New Zealand, informal),
testy,
chippy (informal),
thin-skinned,
grouchy (informal),
querulous,
peevish,
quick-tempered,
splenetic,
easily offended,
captious,
pettish,
toey (New Zealand, slang)
in the sense of uneasy
Definition
(of a person) anxious or apprehensive
He looked uneasy and refused to answer questions.
Synonyms
anxious,
worried,
troubled,
upset,
wired (slang),
nervous,
disturbed,
uncomfortable,
unsettled,
impatient,
restless,
agitated,
apprehensive,
edgy,
jittery (informal),
perturbed,
on edge,
ill at ease,
restive,
twitchy (informal),
like a fish out of water,
antsy (informal),
discomposed
in the sense of worried
Definition
concerned and anxious about things that may happen