How to Use petulant in a Sentence

petulant

adjective

• Her tone was petulant and angry.
• The rest of the sports world sees a petulant young star and a coach, who might be in over his head.
  — Kent Somers, AZCentral.com, 27 Oct. 2022
• Fessy is left alone in the volcano to whine like a petulant child.
  — Kyndall Cunningham, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2021
• But that car was a boost bomb, with torque steer to shame a Saab and the demeanor of a petulant teenager.
  — Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 20 Nov. 2020
• But, of course, the petulant president would rather take his lectern and stay home.
  — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 8 Oct. 2020
• And as a petulant curator of my own tastes, this was enough to turn my nose at it.
  — Bolu Babalola, Harper's BAZAAR, 27 May 2021
• His over-the-top performance is a blend of a petulant child and Kim Jong-Un, with haircut to match.
  — Theodore P. Mahne, NOLA.com, 26 Oct. 2017
• Like a petulant child tired of losing, Beijing tossed the entire thing into the garbage bin.
  — Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2021
• Daniels and Trump: Online, one of them is often lewd, petulant, brash and self-involved.
  — Monica Hesse, Sun-Sentinel.com, 12 Mar. 2018
• She's come off spoiled, petulant and worst of all privileged.
  — Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle, 8 Feb. 2018
• Oscar, the petulant bird, was lured into a pen after a 50-mph run at a Telluride scouting the route.
  — Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 17 Feb. 2020
• This is more than the frustrated outburst of a petulant woman.
  — Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2021
• By day two Goodman, up to then a shuffling, silent, and petulant presence slumped at the end of the defense table, had a snap in his step.
  — Kevin Conley, Town & Country, 24 Dec. 2012
• At first the cephalopods, like petulant tots, pulled off the glasses—until scientists plied them with treats: live shrimps.
  — National Geographic, 19 May 2020
• That sounds like something a petulant 5th grader would say.
  — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2024
• So does a trio of warbling rocks: petulant, stubborn creatures who insist on the rules.
  — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2021
• When asked, his responses boil down to the equivalent of a one-word answer from a petulant child: Mine!
  — Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2023
• His petulant begging for a drop at the Memorial did not help matters).
  — Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 6 Aug. 2019
• The film doesn’t make any effort to explain why Alma loves this petulant genius.
  — Lindsey Bahr, kansascity, 18 Jan. 2018
• If Republicans fail to win control of the Senate, much of the blame will rest on the petulant ex-president.
  — Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2022
• The 19-member cast conjured up an array of voices, from shy but strong-willed to angry and petulant.
  — Christopher Arnott, courant.com, 24 May 2021
• To deny them gifts on birthdays and Christmas because of it would be petulant and a mistake.
  — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 22 Dec. 2020
• Do they ever: A petulant thumb sucker gets his appendages snipped off.
  — David L. Coddon, sandiegouniontribune.com, 28 May 2017
• Jose Llana’s King is more petulant than stubborn but his sturdy voice is an asset to a role that is often cast with non-singers.
  — Chris Hewitt, Twin Cities, 9 Mar. 2017
• All her songs — fast tempo or slow — strike the same petulant, egotistical note.
  — Armond White, National Review, 18 Oct. 2023
• Smith's Dickinson, though, is nothing short of petulant teen rebel.
  — Robyn Bahr, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2019
• And leave the prickly, prissy, petulant Scot somewhere on the side of the road in an unenviable neighborhood.
  — Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 12 Apr. 2018
• The chief driver of the post-election contention of the past several weeks is the petulant refusal of one man to accept the verdict of the American people.
  — The Editors, National Review, 30 Nov. 2020
• His once-endearing loverboy persona has regressed to that of a petulant, scorned teenager.
  — Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 8 May 2024
• Covert narcissists are petulant, highly sensitive to criticism, and tend to feel aggrieved by the world.
  — Abby Ellin, Washington Post, 1 July 2024

Last Updated: 15 Nov 2024