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
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
Her father, a renowned music educator as well as a composer and conductor, was a conspicuous voice urging fretful Americans not to dismiss the music but to listen to what the songs had to say.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fretful
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
Her father, a renowned music educator as well as a composer and conductor, was a conspicuous voice urging fretful Americans not to dismiss the music but to listen to what the songs had to say.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fretful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fretful
Adjective
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The crew is under the supervision of the capable Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) who is prone to panic attacks as the group visits an irritable planet at the behest of The Corporation — a powerful business conglomerate where profit is indeed king.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
16 May 2025
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It’s said to cause people to become irritable, aggravate health problems, and abrade mechanical devices.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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In the novel’s historical re-creation, is there an anxious note to Americans now losing themselves in accommodation?—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
23 May 2025
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An inaccurate diagnosis might lead to unnecessary or risky treatment, and a false positive can cause stress by requiring additional tests and anxious waits for results.—
Max Votek,
Forbes.com,
22 May 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
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Set on the fictional New England island of New Penzance in the 1960s, Sam (Jared Gilman), an emotionally disturbed orphan, and Suzy (Kara Hayward), a sophisticated, yet troubled girl in the vein of Margot Tenenbaum, long to grow up and get away from the chaos that surrounds them.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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The grizzly was even more agitated, rocking back and forth, making mini-lunges.—
Alann B. Steen,
Outdoor Life,
21 May 2025
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Bella and Edward, the most inhumanly beautiful Cullen of all, meet-cute-ish when she’s forced to sit next to him in biology lab and he seems agitated by her presence, even repulsed.—
Bruce Handy,
Vulture,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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However, because the pool was shallow, Lisberg was less worried.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
25 May 2025
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There are signs that some in Israel are worried about the consequences of its actions in Gaza.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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The price of gold tends to move when markets get nervous – and so does the gold.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
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It should also be noted that Demings is more than a little nervous right now about making any public promises about helping to finance a baseball stadium.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 May 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 5 Jun. 2025.
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