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ill-tempered

ill-tempered

4 5.7
Easily annoyed and quick to get angry
  • adjective
  • /ˌɪlˈtɛmpərd/
translation icon : malhumorado
  • After a long day, she became ill-tempered and snapped at her friends.

Examples

  • For no other reason than I'm a mean, ill-tempered old man who hates to lose.

  • Quite an ill-tempered fellow.

  • And this made us ill-tempered with each other, less than loving.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Who else will accept someone as strong-willed and ill-tempered as you?

  • The dog was small, but muscular and somewhat ill-tempered.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The truth was that the horses were fatty and ill-tempered, and the pool's water had a suspicious odor.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I'm the one who's the ill-tempered brute, but he gets all the blame.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Now Mason was known in the area as a notoriously ill tempered man, an alcoholic with a sadistic streak.

  • Short-haired, long-legged, and ill-tempered, these are the nastiest of all the big bears.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Just before departure, Captain Spask granted a short, rather ill-tempered interview to the media, wherein he exuded a blend of confidence and contempt.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

cranky
vsill-tempered
117 4.2

Easily annoyed and upset when tired or hungry

is focused on overall annoyance rather than frequent complaining
grumpy
vsill-tempered
76 1.7

Easily annoyed and in a bad mood

is a broader term for being easily annoyed, not only moodiness
irritable
vsill-tempered
32 3.7

Quick to become annoyed or angry

is more about steady grumpiness than sudden impatience
testy
vsill-tempered
32 7.2

Easily annoyed and quick to get angry

describes a more constant irritable or grumpy disposition instead of bursts
crabby
vsill-tempered
  • Informal
24 5.4

Feeling easily annoyed and in a bad mood

is the neutral description of being easily annoyed rather than moody
ornery
vsill-tempered
  • Informal
22 8.5

Being bad-tempered and stubborn, often hard to deal with

is about being easily annoyed rather than being stubborn or difficult
grouchy
vsill-tempered
19 3.9

Easily annoyed and often in a bad mood

is general irritability rather than a specific complaining style
pissy
vsill-tempered
  • Offensive
18 9.6

Quick to become annoyed and show a bad mood

describes normal annoyance without the petty, unpleasant tone
cantankerous
vsill-tempered
9 8.6

Gets angry easily and often argues with people

is the simpler state of quick annoyance without argumentative traits
hot-tempered
vsill-tempered
5 5.1

Quick to become angry

expresses milder, persistent annoyance rather than intense outbursts
irascible
vsill-tempered
  • Formal
5 8.6

Quick to become angry, often at small things

focuses on ordinary annoyance and sulkiness rather than strong provocation
short-tempered
vsill-tempered
4 4.2

Quick to get angry or easily annoyed

is about general annoyance and low mood rather than speed of anger
curmudgeonly
vsill-tempered
3 9.5

Often bad-tempered and easily annoyed, like a grumpy older person

is a general term for easy annoyance, not age specific
bad-tempered
vsill-tempered
3 3.5

Quick to get angry or annoyed

is a milder label for general irritability and low mood
quick-tempered
vsill-tempered
1 6.0

To become angry quickly and easily

is focused on ongoing annoyance rather than rapid onset of anger
choleric
vsill-tempered
1 9.6

Quick to become angry and often bad-tempered

is a simple, current term for being easily annoyed or grumpy
cross
vsill-tempered
1 2.2

Feeling slightly angry or annoyed

is about ongoing low mood rather than a single annoyed moment
splenetic
vsill-tempered
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Easily become angry and say harsh things

is the plain modern description of being easily annoyed or grumpy
stroppy
vsill-tempered
  • UK
1 9.8

Easily annoyed and likely to argue or be unhelpful

is simpler irritability without the difficult, argumentative behavior
splenitive
vsill-tempered
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Quick to become angry or take offense

covers simpler everyday annoyance and grumpiness rather than offensiveness
ill-humored
vsill-tempered
  • US
1 7.0

Being often in a bad mood and unfriendly

is about being easily annoyed without necessarily being unfriendly
crabbed
vsill-tempered
  • Archaic
1 8.6

Annoyed and easily upset so you speak in a short angry way

is the simpler state of being easily annoyed without harshness
ill-natured
vsill-tempered
7.4

Being easily annoyed and often unkind to others

is more about simple irritability than active unkindness
crankish
vsill-tempered
8.3

Becoming easily annoyed and acting in a bad-tempered way

describes normal easy annoyance without strange behavior
huffish
vsill-tempered
9.9

Being bad-tempered and easily offended

is general irritability and grumpiness rather than sulky offence

Antonyms

22 2.6

Being calm and relaxed and not easily upset

19 2.4

Being friendly, cheerful, and easy to get along with

How Irritable

irascible
  • Formal
5 8.6
ill-tempered
4 5.7
irritable
32 3.7
cranky
117 4.2

Surface Forms

ill-tempered positive

Morphology

ill-tempered = ill + tempered (transparent) = ill + temper + ed

The meaning is directly built from ill + tempered, with only a conventional lexicalized feel.

Etymology

The word ill-tempered comes from the prefix ill- meaning 'bad' and temper meaning 'mood', as in the phrase 'lose your temper', so it describes someone in a 'bad mood' who is easily annoyed.