Petulance
Pronunciation : Pet"u*lance, Pet"u*lan*cy
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [L. petulania: cf. F. p?tulance. See Petulant.]
Definition : Defn: The quality or state of being petulant; temporary peevishness; pettishness; capricious ill humor. "The petulancy of our words." B. Jonson. Like pride in some, and like petulance in others. Clarendon. The lowering eye, the petulance, the frown. Cowper.
Syn. -- Petulance, Peevishness. -- Peevishness implies the permanence of a sour, fretful temper; petulance implies temporary or capricious irritation.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913