as in irritable
tending towards or characterized by agitation or irritability
They finally lulled the fretful baby to sleep. I kept having fretful thoughts about what would happen if we couldn't pay our bills.
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Recent Examples of fretful
At the very least, Washington sought to assure the fretful Parsons that all was not yet lost.
—
Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 2025
Now, for many in the business world, that question feels almost passé, part of an earlier, more fretful era of narratives.
—Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
As Queenie, navigating empty relationships and professional disappointments on a journey from self-sabotage to self-worth, Brown makes a whole person from a variety of attitudes — hopeful, hopeless, hungover, exuberant, fretful, thoughtful.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2024
Too many young people are anxious, fretful and socially isolated.
—Sarah Lent, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 2025
Now, for many in the business world, that question feels almost passé, part of an earlier, more fretful era of narratives.
—Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
As Queenie, navigating empty relationships and professional disappointments on a journey from self-sabotage to self-worth, Brown makes a whole person from a variety of attitudes — hopeful, hopeless, hungover, exuberant, fretful, thoughtful.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2024
Too many young people are anxious, fretful and socially isolated.
—Sarah Lent, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretful
Adjective
-
Cass fulfills his obligations in a particularly irritable way.—
Jesse Hassenger,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2025
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One person’s fatigue is another’s back pain, is another’s migraine or irritable bowel, or long Covid, and so on.—
Jessica DuLong,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
On Tires, Gerben plays Will, the anxious and unqualified son of the auto-repair chain's owner.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
5 June 2025
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As a result, children can become frustrated and anxious when trying to learn math.—
Jennifer Pierce,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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But behind the chants and cheering lies a troubled past.—
Tomás Hill López-Menchero,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
-
This year the American/JetBlue relationship became so troubled that American sued JetBlue.—
Ted Reed,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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Ernst faced a number of agitated constituents at a town hall on Friday who expressed concerns that Republican cuts to Medicaid in the bill that would fund Trump's legislative agenda.—
Benjamin Siegel,
ABC News,
2 June 2025
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Published in 2019, the book follows a woman named Lillian who becomes the caretaker of her old friend Madison's twin stepchildren — who spontaneously ignite in flames when agitated.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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Georgia, too, is worried about Ginny's behind-the-scenes machinations.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
7 June 2025
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The freemium search engine Kagi isn't worried about having the most comprehensive index.—
Ryan Whitwam,
ArsTechnica,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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The video highlighted how visibly nervous Jessie was while using jokes to get through the show.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
6 June 2025
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There’s nothing to be nervous about going into a spray tan.—
Catharine Malzahn,
Glamour,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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However, those apprehensive about near-term volatility should contemplate suitable strategies, such as the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio strategy, featuring a selection of 30 stocks, that has a history of comfortably outperforming the S&P 500 over the previous four-year span.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
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Tammy, 38, was apprehensive about her younger sister's quick engagement.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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On a less peevish note: The entry is making its New York Times Crossword debut.—
Sam Corbin,
New York Times,
14 May 2025
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Rojas’s recollections weren’t peevish—fine work was produced under these conditions.—
Ian Parker,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fretful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fretful. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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