Pee"vish (?), a. [OE. pevische; of uncertain origin, perh. from a word imitative of the noise made by fretful children + -ish.] 1. Habitually fretful; easily vexed or fretted; hard to please; apt to complain; querulous; petulant. "Her peevish babe." Wordsworth.

She is peevish, sullen, froward.

2. Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction; as, a peevish answer.

3. Silly; childish; trifling. [Obs.]

To send such peevish tokens to a king.

Syn. -- Querulous; petulant; cross; ill-tempered; testy; captious; discontented. See Fretful.

• constantly complaining; fretful, whining