waspish

  • 1Waspish — Wasp ish, a. 1. Resembling a wasp in form; having a slender waist, like a wasp. [1913 Webster] 2. Quick to resent a trifling affront; characterized by snappishness; irritable; irascible; petulant; snappish. [1913 Webster] He was naturally a… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2waspish — index fractious, perverse, petulant, querulous, resentful Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 3waspish — irrascible, quick to take offense; spiteful, 1560s, from WASP (Cf. wasp) + ISH (Cf. ish). Related: Waspishly; waspishness …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4waspish — snappish, *irritable, fractious, peevish, petulant, pettish, huffy, fretful, querulous Analogous words: testy, touchy, cranky, cross, *irascible: *impatient: *contrary, perverse: spiteful, *malicious …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 5waspish — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ sharply irritable. DERIVATIVES waspishly adverb waspishness noun …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6waspish — [wäs′pish, wôs′pish] adj. 1. of or like a wasp 2. having a slender waist, like a wasp 3. bad tempered; snappish waspishly adv. waspishness n …

    English World dictionary

  • 7waspish — [[t]wɒ̱spɪʃ[/t]] ADJ GRADED A waspish remark or sense of humour is sharp and critical. ...a lawyer with an inventive mind and a waspish sense of humour …

    English dictionary

  • 8waspish — mod. in the manner of a WASP. □ She looks sort of waspish, but she’s not. □ Sally is a waspish kind of yuppie …

    Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • 9waspish — adjective Date: 1566 1. resembling a wasp in behavior; especially snappish, petulant < a waspish temper > 2. resembling a wasp in form; especially slightly built • waspishly adverb • waspishness noun …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 10waspish — waspishly, adv. waspishness, n. /wos pish/, adj. 1. like or suggesting a wasp, esp. in behavior. 2. quick to resent a trifling affront or injury; snappish. 3. irascibly or petulantly spiteful: waspish writing. 4. having a slight or slender build …

    Universalium