Literary notes about peeved (AI summary)
The term "peeved" is used by writers to evoke a toned-down irritation that nonetheless powerfully colors a character’s demeanor and the overall scene. It often appears in dialogue as a subtle admonition or retort—consider the gentle, almost teasing, usage in lines like "Now don't be peeved, Sammy" [1]—while at other times, the word heightens a moment of comic exaggeration, as when a character is described “as peeved as a hen” [2]. Authors also deploy it to underscore a character's underlying discontent or vexation during interactions, as when a sarcastic remark or a dismissive tone reveals lingering displeasure [3, 4]. In this way, "peeved" serves as a multifaceted cue, conveying both minor annoyance and deeper emotional tensions in various narrative contexts [5, 6, 7].
- Now don't be peeved, Sammy," replied Pepper.
— from The Day of the Beast by Zane Grey - And when you couldn’t get it you were as peeved as a hen that tries to get results from a doorknob.
— from Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol. 2. No. 17, February, 1921America's Magazine of Wit, Humor and Filosophy by Various - "Peeved?" "By Gussie's manoeuvres on the platform this afternoon.
— from Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse - —Take a bit of doing, boss, retaliated that rough diamond palpably a bit peeved in response to the foregoing truism.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - She is not nerve-collapsed and peeved and insincere.
— from The Canadian Commonwealth by Agnes C. Laut - On the floor the lobsters, justly indignant, or, as Tom remarked, “a bit peeved,” were waving their claws and trying to get back on their feet again.
— from Four Afloat: Being the Adventures of the Big Four on the Water by Ralph Henry Barbour - He seldom played a round without becoming piqued, peeved, or—in many cases—chagrined.
— from The Clicking of Cuthbert by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
