Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Given to complaining; peevish.
- adj. Expressing a complaint or grievance; grumbling: a querulous voice; querulous comments.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Complaining; habitually complaining; disposed to murmur or express dissatisfaction: as, a querulous man.
- Expressing complaint; proceeding from a complaining habit: as, a querulous tone of voice.
- Quarrelsome.
- Synonyms and See plaintive and petulant.
Wiktionary
- adj. Often complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. obsolete Given to quarreling; quarrelsome.
- adj. Apt to find fault; habitually complaining; disposed to murmur.
- adj. Expressing complaint; fretful; whining.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. habitually complaining
Etymologies
- Late 15th century: From late Latin querulosus, from Latin querulus, from queri (to complain). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English querulose, litigious, quarrelsome, from Old French querelos, from Late Latin querulōsus, querulous, from Latin querulus, from querī, to complain; see kwes- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“It is legitimately hard to decide which of these four points is the most ridiculous. (1) and (2) might charitably be called querulous, demanding a full vector representation of all the heat/energy flows of a schematic representation.”
“Anne!" called a querulous voice down the passage.”
Grace Harlowe's Plebe Year at High School The Merry Doings of the Oakdale Freshmen Girls
“Don't stand looking any longer, for mercy's sake!" called the querulous voice from the house.”
“Suddenly the groom, a kind of querulous shiver in his voice, spoke.”
“Her words came so fast that I cannot attempt their semblance here, and her voice rose and fell in a kind of querulous chant to which sometimes she nodded her head, as if she was beating the time.”
“Servillo's performance at the centre of Paolo Sorrentino's grotesque portrait of former Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti, as a kind of querulous, jug-eared gnome with homicidal instincts, was hugely entertaining and alarming.”
“Furthermore, not to be picky, but for a book that complains about poor vocabulary skills among digital readers and writers, I couldn't help but notice that on page sixteen he seems to misuse the word "querulous" in place of what sounds like he intended to be a synonym for "inquisitive.”
“At sight of their other prisoner he chattered in a high querulous falsetto, with puckered brows and troubled, wild-animal eyes.”
“When I started to crawl along the packed gear with which the wagon was laden my mother said in a tired and querulous voice, "Can't you ever be still a minute, Jesse?”
“His eyes had the querulous, troubled look such as she had noticed in monkeys; but while he was patently uncomfortable under her scrutiny, his thick lips were drawn firmly in an effort at sullen determination.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘querulous’.
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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Q words
Ever get stuck with the random bunch of letters and a q and not know any words? Well, maybe this will help.
quire, quais, quai, queer, quoit, quitrent, quipster, question, quest, questing, quests, quit and 208 more...
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allover
reintegrate, spight, surveillant, harmonize, Colophon, workplace, bigoted, unsighted, bridgework, salutation, voltmeter, octane and 159 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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phrontistery - q
from phrontistery.info
qanat, qasida, qat, qigong, qintar, qiviut, qoph, qua, quab, quackle, quacksalver, quad and 227 more...
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Jesse's random
bathos, dragoman, tessellated, escutcheon, eikon, mondaine, basilisk, ciborium, rubric, machicolation, jet, defalcation and 198 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august and 401 more...
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man gre
abase, abeyance, abreast, abscission, abscond, abyss, accede, accretion, acerbic, acidulous, acumen, adulterate and 481 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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Go over
mollify, obstinate, obviate, occlude, onerous, obscure, paragon, pedantic, perfunctory, placate, placid, prodigal and 364 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1824 more...
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MY COLLECTION
COLLECT FROM DIFFERENT PAPERS,WEBSITES,BOOKS AND MOVIES.
VAUDEVILLE, herbivores, BANDWAGON, PREY, squander, squabbling, Concierge, persuade, dethrone, cacophony, maize, ubiquitous and 98 more...
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MyList
peter out, fraying, jump on the bandw..., indignation, eclectic, hung up, salutary, hoary, warped, glaring, blue-collar, concomitant and 105 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for querulous.
itz_chucknorris a philosopher is a man who works with stuff Oct 28, 2010
sera Complaining - like Professor Quirinus Quirrell (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone) Aug 13, 2007