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bad temper

bad temper

14 3.4
A habit of getting angry easily and staying in a bad mood
  • noun
  • /bæd ˈtɛmpər/
translation icon : mal genio
  • Her bad temper made it difficult for her to maintain friendships.
  • a very bad temper
  • control your bad temper
  • a really bad temper

That's a good angle though because I used to get throw fits, I had a bad temper and I'd smash trophies in my room.

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Examples

Synonyms

temper
vsbad temper
237 3.6

A sudden short burst of anger

leans more to an overall tendency to be easily angered or irritable
irritability
vsbad temper
8 4.2

Being easily annoyed or quick to become angry

adds that this often includes staying in a bad mood
petulance
vsbad temper
5 9.0

Being easily annoyed and acting childish

is the general tendency to anger without the childish sulky tone
short temper
vsbad temper
3 4.1

Getting angry or losing patience very quickly

is a broader tendency to anger easily or stay irritable
grumpiness
vsbad temper
3 4.1

A feeling of being easily annoyed

is the underlying tendency to become angry or stay irritable
quick temper
vsbad temper
2 3.9

To become angry easily or suddenly

is about a general tendency to anger or lasting irritability
fractiousness
vsbad temper
1 9.9

A tendency to be easily annoyed and hard to control

focuses on internal tendency to anger rather than difficult conduct
irascibility
vsbad temper
  • Formal
1 9.3

A tendency to become angry quickly

emphasizes steady irritability and tendency to remain annoyed
ill temper
vsbad temper
1 4.6

A bad mood that makes someone easily angry

is the general tendency to become angry easily as well
hotheadedness
vsbad temper
  • Informal
7.3

Getting angry quickly and acting without thinking

includes easy anger but not the impulsive action
combustious temper
vsbad temper
  • Archaic
8.9

A tendency to get angry very quickly

also covers staying in an irritable mood as well as outbursts
biliousness
vsbad temper
  • Literature
9.9

A tendency to become angry easily

is milder, covering easy anger or steady irritability rather than fury
cantankerousness
vsbad temper
9.2

A habit of being bad-tempered and hard to get along with

focuses on the simple tendency to anger without arguing

Antonyms

9 2.7

A state without strong feelings or worry in your mind

1 1.4

Feeling cheerful and pleasant with other people

How Irritable

short temper
3 4.1
bad temper
14 3.4
temper
237 3.6

Surface Forms

bad temper singular
bad tempers plural

Morphology

bad + temper

The meaning 'a tendency to become angry easily' is directly and predictably built from 'bad' (negative/poor) + 'temper' (emotional state or disposition), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE sense. This compositional pattern is common across languages and follows standard adjective + noun modification, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The phrase bad temper comes from an older use of temper to mean 'mood' or how someone feels. Imagine a pot that boils over — when a person's temper is 'bad' they quickly explode in anger, so the phrase means 'gets angry easily'.