querulous
/ˈkwɛɹ(j)ʊləs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.61 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Often complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.
Example Sentences
- "“Nay, you said as much before,” said the querulous old man, “and yet I was put forth from Kinross, and pillaged by troopers on the road.—[…]”"
- ""But how am I to obtain such treaty?" asked Monsieur, in a querulous tone."
- "The nights were now cold, gemmed with a multitude of bright stars, uncanny with the querulous wail of coyotes and the occasional deep voices of wolves."
- "In contrast, the Westminster Gazette in 1912 was much more positive about railway staff, praising the "...army of porters hustling and bustling hither and thither with barrows groaning under the weight of bags and baggage and... the ever-patient and long-suffering guards, courteously giving information and advice to the querulous passengers... to the porter the Christmas season means a continuous round of heavy labour, extremely tiring to both nerves and temper, and this fact the public too often seem either to forget or ignore.""
Etymology
From Old French querelos, from Late Latin querulōsus, from Latin querulus, from queror (“to complain”).
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /ˈkwɛɹ(j)ʊləs/
Inflected Forms
more querulous (comparative)
most querulous (superlative)