waspish

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wasp·ish

(wŏs′pĭsh)

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of a wasp.

2. Easily irritated or annoyed; irascible.

3. Indicative of irritation, annoyance, or spite: a waspish remark.

wasp′ish·ly adv.

wasp′ish·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

waspish

(ˈwɒspɪʃ)

adj

1. relating to or suggestive of a wasp

2. easily annoyed or angered

ˈwaspishly adv

ˈwaspishness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wasp•ish

(ˈwɒs pɪʃ)

adj.

1. like or suggesting a wasp, esp. in behavior.

2. snappish or peevish; petulant; testy.

3. having a slight or slender build.

[1560–70]

wasp′ish•ly, adv.

wasp′ish•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.

waspish - very irritable; "bristly exchanges between the White House and the press"; "he became prickly and spiteful"; "witty and waspish about his colleagues"

bristly, prickly, splenetic

ill-natured - having an irritable and unpleasant disposition

waspish

adjective bad-tempered, cross, irritable, grumpy, touchy, petulant, waxy (informal, chiefly Brit.), ill-tempered, irascible, cantankerous, peppery, crabbed, tetchy, ratty (Brit. & N.Z. informal), testy, chippy (informal), fretful, peevish, crabby, splenetic, crotchety (informal), snappish, liverish, captious, pettish Her tone was somewhat waspish and abrupt.
pleasant, cheerful, agreeable, easy-going, good-humoured, genial, affable, jovial, good-natured

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

waspish

adjective

Having or showing a bad temper:

bad-tempered, cantankerous, crabbed, cranky, cross, disagreeable, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, nasty, peevish, petulant, querulous, snappish, snappy, surly, testy, ugly.

Informal: crabby, mean.

Idiom: out of sorts.

Translations

زُنْبوري، شَرِس، لاذِع

hvidt angelsaksisk protestantiskskarp

reizbar

acariâtre âcre aigu mordant perçant

tüskés természetû

hvefsinn, fyrtinn

stizzoso

superhvit

huysuz terszengin ve muhafazakâr Protestan olan

易怒的脾气暴躁的

waspish

[ˈwɒspɪʃ] ADJ [character, person] → irritable, irascible; [remark] → mordaz, punzante

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

waspish

[ˈwɒspɪʃ] adj → irritablewasp-waisted [ˌwɒspˈweɪstɪd] adj → à la taille de guêpe

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

waspish

adj, waspishly

adv → giftig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

waspish

[ˈwɒspɪʃ] adj (character) → litigioso/a; (comment) → pungente

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

WASP

(wosp) noun (abbreviation)

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant; a term used critically (often by minority groups) to refer to the members of the privileged upper middle class in the USA.

Waspish adjective

a Waspish neighborhood.

ˈwaspish adjective

(of a person) unpleasant in manner, temper etc. a nasty, waspish young woman.

ˈwaspishly adverb

ˈwaspishness noun

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

'You are such a waspish, raspish, ill-conditioned chap, you see,' said Mr.

View in context

If SHE did not see them, some one else did--a gentleman on horseback had entered the gate and was proceeding up the road; at the distance of a few paces from us he paused, and calling to the children in a waspish penetrating tone, bade them 'keep out of that water.' 'Miss Grey,' said he, '(I suppose it IS Miss Grey), I am surprised that you should allow them to dirty their clothes in that manner!

View in context

When she chose, his sister's tongue could be waspish. She had tormented him with it all the way to her home.

View in context

In temperament he was weak and waspish, and his health had suffered heavily from oriental experiments with opium.

View in context

Waspish judge Paulus A whole family can sit down together and laugh at it and enjoy the performances and say, "I like that one" or "It's rubbish".

TOGETHER AGAIN; The talent show returns who'll get a standing ovation?

I am a WASPish Canadian who has lived in South America and traveled in many countries.

Racism at Home and Abroad

DARKSIDERS III takes liberties with the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, retaining Death And War (stars of previous Darksiders titles) but replacing the others with Strife and the waspish sassy Fury, who leads this time around in battle against the Seven Deadly Sins.

Darksiders III PC, Xbox One, PS4 ... .

THE suave and ever-soslightly waspish Tom Allen, star of Bake Off: The Professionals and Bake Off: Extra Slice, is presently doing an epic-sized tour of the UK and is coming to Loughborough Town Hall on Thursday, November 1.

Bake Off star Tom to give an Extra Slice..

As the two stories converge, the drama is played out with verve and waspish wit.

Books; Staying in Your ultimate home comforts 38

As the links between the two tales converge, the drama is played out with verve and waspish wit.

Books; Inside Out Quick guide to turning your free time into fun time

The next day, the visitor's waspish wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) materialises and violence percolates beneath the surface.

dvd; girls night in one years, Get your mates round for an evening of film, music and fun

Crushingly, John Michael Higgins and Elizabeth Banks are little more than feedback as brilliantly waspish commentators John Smith and Gail Abernathy-McKadden.