phlegmatic

adjective

phleg·​mat·​ic fleg-ˈma-tik 

1

: resembling, consisting of, or producing the humor phlegm

2

: having or showing a slow and stolid temperament

phlegmatically

fleg-ˈma-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

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Phlegm and the Four Temperaments

According to the ancient Greeks, human personalities were controlled by four bodily fluids or semifluids called humors: blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. Each humor was associated with one of the four basic elements: air, earth, fire, and water. Phlegm was paired with water—the cold, moist element—and it was believed to impart the cool, calm, unemotional personality we now call the "phlegmatic type." That's a bit odd, given that the term derives from the Greek phlegma, which literally means "flame," perhaps a reflection of the inflammation that colds and flus often bring.

Synonyms

• affectless
• apathetic
• cold-blooded
• emotionless
• impassible
• impassive
• numb
• passionless
• stoic
• stoical
• stolid
• undemonstrative
• unemotional

Choose the Right Synonym for phlegmatic

impassive, stoic, phlegmatic, apathetic, stolid mean unresponsive to something that might normally excite interest or emotion.

impassive stresses the absence of any external sign of emotion in action or facial expression.

met the news with an impassive look

stoic implies an apparent indifference to pleasure or especially to pain often as a matter of principle or self-discipline.

was resolutely stoic even in adversity

phlegmatic implies a temperament or constitution hard to arouse.

a phlegmatic man unmoved by tears

apathetic may imply a puzzling or deplorable indifference or inertness.

charitable appeals met an apathetic response

stolid implies a habitual absence of interest, responsiveness, or curiosity.

stolid workers wedded to routine

Examples of phlegmatic in a Sentence

Some people are phlegmatic, some highly strung. Some are anxious, others risk-seeking. Some are confident, others shy. Some are quiet, others loquacious. We call these differences personality … —Matt Ridley, Genome, 1999

Why would a man live like this? Alone on the godforsaken prairie surrounded by whispering cornfields and phlegmatic Swedes if instead you could go to picture shows and snazzy restaurants and dance with a beautiful woman with her head on your shoulder and her perfume driving you wild? —Garrison Keillor, WLT: A Radio Romance, 1991

But Einstein was phlegmatic: when a book was published entitled 100 Authors Against Einstein, he retorted, "If I were wrong, then one would have been enough!" —Stephen W. Hawking, A Brief History of Time, 1988

a strangely phlegmatic response to what should have been happy news

Recent Examples on the Web

The idea of a chic, dynamic pop culture was twinned with the self-image of phlegmatic Brits. —Fintan O’Toole, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2023

Capper struck me as phlegmatic about the power of the supermarkets. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 May 2024

Enter, then, Penélope Cruz, the raging storm to Driver’s phlegmatic calm, and the ultimate heart of a film that sometimes prefers to keep it hidden. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023

Yet while Chamberlain is the story’s champion — a noble defender, historical bone of contention and revisionist argument rolled into one phlegmatic figure — the movie’s more energetic and visually engaging heroic duties have been relegated to Hugh, Paul and the supporting players in their orbits. —New York Times, 20 Jan. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fleumatik, flemmatik, fleugmatik, borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French fleumatike, borrowed from Late Latin phlegmaticus "relating to or producing the humor phlegm," borrowed from Greek phlegmatikós "abounding in phlegm," from phlegmat-, phlégma "flame, inflammation, phlegm" + -ikos -ic entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

phlegmatic

adjective

phleg·​mat·​ic fleg-ˈmat-ik 

: not easily excited : slow to respond

phlegmatically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Etymology

from earlier phlegm "one of the four body fluids once believed to affect a person's health," from Middle English fleume (same meaning), from early French fleume (same meaning), from Latin phlegma (same meaning), from Greek phlegma "flame, phlegm" see Word History at humor

Medical Definition

phlegmatic

adjective

phleg·​mat·​ic fleg-ˈmat-ik 

1

: resembling, consisting of, or producing the humor phlegm

2

: having or showing a slow and stolid temperament

phlegmatically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb