short-tempered

adjective

short-tem·​pered ˌshȯrt-ˈtem-pərd How to pronounce short-tempered (audio)
: having a quick temper

Examples of short-tempered in a Sentence

shop customers learned not to bother the short-tempered dog on their way out
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noticing how these patterns affect your personal life—say, leading to venting or being short-tempered at home—provides valuable insights into your reactions at work. Liz Kislik, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024 The waitstaff at Allen’s were professional but could be short-tempered when faced with a subpar busboy. Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024 Doherty, then 19, became a superstar in the early ’90s playing the straitlaced but short-tempered Brenda Walsh as the show became a guilty pleasure for a generation. Ethan Sacks, NBC News, 14 July 2024 Bader — a veteran voice actor who on Max’s Harley Quinn alone has voiced Batman/Bruce Wayne, Gorilla Grodd, Thomas Wayne and others — here will play Harvey Dent, a great-looking and charismatic DA who is also ruthlessly ambitious, arrogant, short-tempered and a dangerous person to cross. Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 20 June 2024 Dear Amy: My husband has been irritable, tense, short-tempered and basically taking things out on me and our 16-year-old son. Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2024 Per usual, Barry Gibb speaks to newsmakers of the day, becoming increasingly short-tempered with his guests in between breaking into song. Vulture, 28 Jan. 2024 The collector, despite his reputation for being short-tempered or blustery, is curious and soft-spoken on tape. Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2023 Olsson and his growing group were stuck. Nervous and short-tempered, Olsson shouted orders that day and threatened to kill people who resisted. Donald Beaulieu, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of short-tempered was in 1877

Dictionary Entries Near short-tempered

Cite this Entry

“Short-tempered.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/short-tempered. Accessed 28 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

short-tempered

adjective
short-tem·​pered
ˈshȯrt-ˈtem-pərd
: easily angered
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!