as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper
an ill-tempered cat will scratch with little provocation
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Recent Examples of ill-tempered
On balance, however, Billy Wagner, an imposing 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds, came off as brash and blustery, foul-mouthed and ill-tempered in witness testimony.
—
Patricia Gallagher Newberry, The Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2024
Lemon's interview with Musk delves into numerous topics, ranging from the entrepreneur's views on race to X's loss of advertisers over his antisemitic comments, with Musk growing increasingly ill-tempered with Lemon over the course of the discussion.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2024
If the person in charge is ill-tempered, thrives on conflict, and easily persuaded, problems are made worse.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 27 May 2023
Patricia Gallagher Newberry, The Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2024
Lemon's interview with Musk delves into numerous topics, ranging from the entrepreneur's views on race to X's loss of advertisers over his antisemitic comments, with Musk growing increasingly ill-tempered with Lemon over the course of the discussion.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2024
If the person in charge is ill-tempered, thrives on conflict, and easily persuaded, problems are made worse.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 27 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-tempered
Adjective
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This misalignment impairs your sleep and concentration, and can leave you feeling irritable.—
Mackenzie Gamble,
The Conversation,
10 Feb. 2025
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Here’s one way to take your mind off a certain election that seems to have everyone tense and irritable these days — consider that Tahoe ski season is almost here.—
Randy McMullen,
The Mercury News,
31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Peter Nguyen, 54, a father of a seventh-grader at the school, said lots of angry parents spoke up at the meeting.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2025
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As a result, he’s ordered to attend an acting class, where students are instructed how to soften interactions with variously angry, frightened or confused patients.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Over the years, site landowners from the same family could be cantankerous (Elmer Lindsey) or friendly and willing to be engaged (Howard and Doris Lindsey).—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American-Statesman,
22 Oct. 2024
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Trouble is, his nemesis frequently escapes Cat Jail, which annoys the cantankerous Chief (Lil Rel Howery) and the city’s mean Mayor (Cheri Oteri).—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The offensive line, in Monken’s estimation, is the most talented and possibly most ornery unit he’s had at West Point, all the way down to wrestling each other to settle arguments about who’s tougher.—
Brian Hamilton,
The Athletic,
21 Nov. 2024
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They’re led by John Dutton III, an ornery character who nevertheless carries the kind of gravitas that only a veteran movie star like Kevin Costner can bring.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
18 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Sometimes that means confronting disagreeable people.—
David Plazas,
The Tennessean,
24 Apr. 2024
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The most important reason to avoid obsessing over China’s disagreeable regime, however, is that this fixation threatens a core U.S. advantage: Washington’s wide network of partners and allies.—
Evan S. Medeiros,
Foreign Affairs,
8 July 2021
Adjective
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My stepfather inherited a surly, punkish teen dude.—
Erik Piepenburg,
New York Times,
24 Jan. 2025
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That criticism, along with other struggles, has seemingly influenced Davis to be in a surly and unpredictable mood over the past two months.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
12 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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And while there is enough splenetic wit and manic detail to generate obsessive fandom (entire sections of Web sites are dedicated to deciphering just what Kenny is mumbling), subjects like alien abduction, genetic engineering, and Kathie Lee are hardly original targets for satire.—
Chris Norris,
SPIN,
13 Aug. 2022
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Meanwhile, the commentator and controversialist Piers Morgan, an obsessively close observer and relentless critic of Meghan, inevitably waded in with his usual splenetic views.—
Sarah Lyall,
New York Times,
17 Sep. 2022
Adjective
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Everyone within her radius bears the germophobe’s wrath, with the only one who can occasionally pierce through her bilious anger being her upbeat hair-stylist sister Chantal (Michelle Austin), a mother of two vibrant daughters.—
Randy Myers,
The Mercury News,
10 Jan. 2025
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The piece ran under an illustration of a black spatula dripping sinister goblets of melting plastic, against a background of bilious green.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near ill-tempered
Cite this Entry
“Ill-tempered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-tempered. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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